Yale censored a student's course catalog site. I made an unblockable replacement
When I first left America, I disliked and felt disillusioned with the country.I've now spent more of my adult life outside the States than in the U.S., and I've also come to the opinion that the U.S. is one of the most amazing places in the world.Sometimes it's hard to point to exactly why America is so amazing. And the answer, maybe, is on display here.An undergraduate student at an elite university just innovatively, publicly, aggressively pushed back against the Dean.He cited his values and reasoning for doing so. He took care to make sure his work wouldn't damage their physical resources or break the letter of the law. And then he openly acknowledges they could punish him, and welcomes the attempt.And it's not really even a big deal. It's just standard being-an-American stuff.All kinds of bad things in the States. And sometimes the spirit of defiance can get tired or come across overbearing. But it's really cool that it's a regular, run of the mill occurrence for people to push back against norms and restrictions in American society without any fear of long-term repercussions.It's also really, really, really weird. Seriously, stop and reflect on this for a moment. I spend a lot of time in Asia, and doing this in just about any Asian country would ruin a lot of your life prospects.And for us, it's just a matter of course. How strange. And wonderful.