The good professor should know better.  As my mother says, "What if everyone behaved that way?" If political conservatives take Kingwell's advise and dispense with trying to understand or reason with him, what will be the result? Simply this: the last vestiges of civility will pass away and political decisions will henceforth be rendered on sheer power alone. Which means that when the conservatives are in power, Kingwell would not be permitted to teach or even speak. And if Kingwell's dreams are fulfilled and the political left comes into power? Hear the words of someone who, having lived it, does know better:

"Intellectuals in Marxist states do not rule; they are the instruments of petty and vicious politicians."  --Nobel Laureate Czeslaw Milosz

My philosophy professor in college made a point of responding to every view expressed in class, sometimes with disapproval, sometimes with humor, but always with patience, encouragement, and magnanimity. The result? Mutual respect prevailed.