By pushing the “Intellectual Dark Web” into the ring of political discourse last week, Bari Weiss formally introduced the country to a group of people who could save education. I realize that, on its surface, this statement seems hyperbolic, so allow me to explain why it isn’t.
It’s 2018, and our nation is more politically polarized than ever. Mercifully, there are educators out there like Kate Hardiman, a Chicago-area English and religion teacher, who takes time to write about potential solutions to a problem that many believe begins and ends in the schools our young people attend. In her most recent article, Hardiman implies that the lack of “structured, evidenced based debate” in classrooms traps students in a “nebulous, cushy world of opinions.”
Now, any honest person from either side of the aisle must admit the following fact: our political discourse, on certain media platforms, has devolved into a back-and-forth of unsubstantiated opinion lobbing. But all hope is not lost. Also suggested in Hardiman’s article is this: if educators can foster truly productive discourse within the classroom, students will be better equipped to separate logical argument from spurious rhetoric, and bring some reason back to conversations on polarizing issues of national significance. And that’s why the Intellectual Dark Web is so important.
At first glance, this collection of thinkers doesn’t make much sense. Rattle off a few bits of information about its core members, and you have the beginnings of a decent joke. “An orthodox Jew, a clinical psychologist, and a socialist all walk into a bar, and an openly gay man moderates their conversation.”
Given our current political climate, you might imagine that, after a few drinks, tensions would increase and an inevitable shouting match, if not all out brawl, would ensue. But that’s just it. The punch line of this new joke isn’t a zinger. It’s actually pretty boring, because the individuals involved simply wind up having an informative, intellectually stimulating discussion, after which they make plans to meet again. So despite the bleak outlook created by stagnant test scores and campus clashes over free speech, we now have something positive on which to dwell.
A beautiful change could be just around the corner. Thanks to media like long-form podcasts, YouTube debates that exceed two hours, and websites like Heterodox Academy that contain some of the most current social science research, we have an arena in which to discuss difficult topics with the appropriate nuance they require. Moreover, we finally have a group of intellectuals to lead the way.
As illustrated over the course of the last few years, Ben Shapiro, a devoutly religious, frighteningly well-read, conservative political commentator, can now debate Sam Harris, an influential atheist and neuroscientist, in front of a sizeable crowd, and tempers refuse to flair. Christina Hoff Sommers, a card-carrying feminist, can discuss books she’s written on the plight of American boys. Jonathan Haidt, a former Reagan-hating Democrat, can become apolitical and conduct research revealing the psychological roots of morality and political belief. Even Bret Weinstein, a Bernie Sanders-supporting evolutionary biologist at one of the most progressive colleges in the country, can unite the opinions of The New York Times and Fox.
The point is that the United States desperately needs a discursive Renaissance, and the Intellectual Dark Web illustrates that, with the appropriate tools, we can accomplish such a daunting task. All its members, regardless of their allegiances, tacitly acknowledge the value of literacy in the context of informed, civil discourse. They are all lifelong learners, reading, writing, and exchanging ideas in pursuit of the truth. Thankfully, there are millions of decent, well-meaning teachers across our country who ask nothing more than this from their students.
Bari Weiss just lit the torch. Concerned educators everywhere need to carry it forward.
Michael O’Keefe is a boarding school English teacher and football coach. A native New Englander, he has worked in both northeast Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic region for the last five years.
