The Power of Writing & Why William Cronon is Being Targeted

Why is there so much attention paid to Professor William Cronon of UW-Madison? Why do the Republicans care so much about his blog post on the American Legislative Exchange Council? 

Because a piece of writing can be an extremely powerful thing. Oftentimes, people see oral communication and physical actions as most important, and they forget how much impact written communication can have. A very good friend of mine reminded me recently of how much the rich and powerful fear great writers and thinkers, which is what makes Professor Cronon such a danger to them. As my friend said, the rich and powerful fear great writers and thinkers even more than all the muscles of the world. After all, there have been many books, articles, pamphlets, etc, that have essentially changed history. 

Thomas Paine's political pamphlet called Common Sense, for example, is often credited with having sparked the American Revolution. Prior to its publication, a lot of the early American colonies were perfectly content with being under British rule. If you think about it, for a single pamphlet to give rise to the birth of a new nation...well, that's quite remarkable, isn't it? That's how powerful writing is. It can literally change the world. 

In his blog post about the American Legislative Exchange Council (or ALEC), Professor Cronon brought to light a behind-the-scenes organization, backed by corporate interests, that many American citizens never knew about. All of a sudden, so many people are looking up ALEC on the internet, wondering what it's really about and wanting to investigate it, so much so that the organization's website (as of today) suddenly shut down (which makes one wonder--what do they have to hide?). Soon after Professor Cronon's blog post, he also published an opinion piece in the New York Times about how far Republicans in Wisconsin have strayed from Wisconsin's traditions. 

Without a doubt, Professor Cronon has reminded us of the importance of questioning authority and questioning the world around us. It may perhaps lead to change. And the Republicans are now attempting to threaten and silence Professor Cronon.

Academic freedom, valid research, and the ability to intelligently question should never be hindered.