Category Archives: Liberal

The federal Liberals and the official Opposition remain at an impasse.

Unless an agreement is reached before Monday, all 338 M-P's and House of Commons staff will be expected to make their way to Ottawa to resume business as usual.

The Liberals are offering one in-person sitting each week as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, but Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is demanding up to four in-person sittings per week, arguing the Liberals need to be held accountable for their response to the crisis.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is hopeful a deal can be struck.

During his daily briefing this morning, the Prime Minister addressed the ongoing debate: "We've proposed that Parliament could come back in a modified way every single week to ensure accountability, to ensure that we can move forward on legislation and that's what we're very much hoping we're going to get agreement on from all parties."

He says several of the Opposition parties agree that limited weekly sittings would ensure accountability and allow Parliament to continue to pass necessary legislation.

With files from Heather Seaman

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Liberal Government and Opposition still at an impasse over returning to Parliament Monday - Newstalk 1010 (iHeartRadio)

Since the beginning of the 2020 election season, one subject seems to pop up in political discussion again and again: the coveted black vote. Now, with the general election soon upon us, two liberal political action groups are joining forces and planning to launch a multimillion-dollar digital campaign targeting young black voters in an effort to dissuade them from voting either for President Trump or a third-party candidate.

From the Washington Post:

Priorities USA and Color of Change PAC intend to launch the effort in several key battleground states within the next few weeks, getting an early start at trying to convince skeptical or unenthusiastic black voters whose participation will be crucial if Democrats hope to limit Trumps tenure to one term. Priorities has done online surveys over the past several months that indicate a larger share of young black men view Trump favorably than do African American women and older black male voters.

Since 2016, when Trump won a paltry eight percent of the black vote, there have been polls showing a slight uptick in black support for the president. Chairman of Priorities USA Guy Cecil points to growing skepticism towards the Democratic Party among young black men as well as some sort of opening to Trump who has touted himself as the prison reforming, unemployment decreasing white savior to the black community.

We know its not enough just to talk about Donald Trump. We also must lay out a more proactive, forward-looking agenda about what we are going to do when we get in office, Cecil said in a statement after noting that among African Americans and Hispanics across all age groups, weve seen Donald Trumps approval rating decline over the last three weeks.

Arisha Hatch, director of Color of Change PAC, pointed to Democrats taking the black vote for granted while failing to address the concerns of black people as the reason a $3 million campaign is necessary to secure our votes in the general election.

Democrats rely on the black vote, yet too often fail to speak to the specific needs of Black voters. Hatch said in a statement citing the highest rates of unemployment, even in good economic times, crushing incarceration rates, and structures of inequity at every possible turn.

Hatch said that she is thrilled to work with Priorities USA to dig into these needs and develop incisive messages to address them.

As a Washington Post-Ipsos poll shows, Trump hasnt actually gained much favorability among black voters with 9 in 10 disapproving of Trumps job performance and 8 in 10 saying they believe he is a racist and has only exacerbated the issue of racism in America. But growing support for Trump isnt the only hurdle Democrats face in the upcoming presidential race; low voter turnout is arguably an even bigger concern.

Yet, Cecil is confident that Priorities can help Democrats overcome this obstacle having already spent $4 million to boost participation for local elections in Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Just in running an online program that specifically communicated with infrequent voters about issues they care about, we were able to drive up turnout compared to places where we didnt run the program, Cecil said.

According to the Post, Priorities also has a whopping $17 million set aside to spend when the November election draws closer.

Read more:

Liberal Political Groups to Embark on Multimillion Dollar Campaign to Hold on to the Black Vote - The Root

Joe Biden has won the Wisconsin primary. The results came in nearly a week after voters risked their health amid the coronavirus outbreak to cast their ballots, after state Republicans and the right-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court quashed efforts by Democratic Governor Tony Evers to delay in-person voting. Thousands of voters wont even have their votes counted, as the state was unable to cope with the influx of demand for mail-in ballots and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend the absentee deadline.

In another highly anticipated race, liberal Judge Jill Karofsky defeated Republican-backed incumbent Daniel Kelly for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Kelly was appointed by former Governor Scott Walker. Karofskys win means the states highest court will now have a 4-3 conservative lean. Observers say the Wisconsin justices refused to delay last weeks race in hopes that a lower turnout would favor the conservative candidate.

See the article here:

Joe Biden and Liberal Judge Jill Karofsky Win Wisconsin Election Marred by Coronavirus Threat - Democracy Now!

The media are outraged that President Trump is talking about re-opening the country, following their previous position that he sure was taking his sweet time at opening up the country.

Fortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions death forecasts from the Wuhan coronavirus have shrunk from 1.7 million Americans in mid-March; to 100,000 to 200,000 two weeks ago, provided there were massive suppression efforts; to most recently 60,000.

Every week, it seems, were another two weeks away from the apex.

According to a model recently published in The New York Times, if Trump had issued social distancing guidelines just two weeks earlier on March 2, rather than March 16 instead of 60,000 Americans dying from the Chinese coronavirus (projected!), only 6,000 would have died.

If thats what a two-week quarantine would have done, then how about a four-week quarantine?

By the end of the month, 90% of the country will have been shut down, quarantined and socially distancing for FOUR WEEKS. A majority of Americans have already been under these self-isolation rules for three weeks. (And most of the rest live in rural communities 16 miles from one another.)

Two weeks is the magic number. Test positive for the Wuhan: self-quarantine for two weeks. Come into contact with someone who has it: self-quarantine for two weeks. Traveling from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut: self-quarantine for two weeks.

With cold and flu viruses, people develop symptoms after just five days. But to be extra safe, were assuming the Wuhan virus can be transmitted for a full two weeks after contact.

After two weeks, youre either sick or the infection has passed through you with no symptoms.

Again: Its been three. Does social distancing work or doesnt it?

After four weeks of self-isolation, wont 90% of the country be Wuhan-free? Or are we in a sci-fi movie with a virus that can live forever without a host?

For the tiny percentage of the country not in self-isolation for the past three weeks, either because they are essential workers or because they are screw-offs, lets add them to the vulnerable list. Everyone take special precautions around doctors, nurses, grocery store employees and people who dont follow orders just as we do around the elderly and immunocompromised.

By May 1, even most of the slackers will have worked through the Wuhan. There havent been any large gatherings for them to attend, and almost everyone else has been staying 6 feet away from them. Theyve had a month to infect one another and either live or die.

In any event, unless all the claims about social distancing are nonsense, then a ONE-MONTH nationwide quarantine should have killed off the Wuhan in 90% of us, allowing a return to mostly normal life. (It goes without saying that Trumps travel bans will have to remain in place.)

I notice that the same people telling Americans they must remain at home indefinitely were indignant about closing bathhouses in response to the AIDS epidemic. Back then, the media and all gays except Randy Shilts said: How dare you ask us to shut down the bathhouses! Theyre part of gay culture. It would be like asking Catholics to stop visiting the Sistine Chapel!

But putting the entire country under stay-at-home orders? No problem.

Another liberal about-face since the AIDS era gives me an idea for how to re-open the country.

Liberals are furious with Trump for expressing optimism about the experimental drug hydroxychloroquine. When it came to AIDS, the gay communitys successful campaign to compel the FDA to allow compassionate use of unapproved drugs was a civil rights milestone on the order of Selma.

In a 1990 editorial, for example, The New York Times praised the educated and articulate gay spokesmen for bringing about changes in the traditional methods of testing drugs, adding that the new procedures were a compassionate response to AIDS sufferers.

By contrast, today the media are absolutely ghoulish in their hope for hydroxychloroquine to fail. The drug is approved for malaria patients, so its safe; its simply not approved specifically to treat the Chinese virus.

The reason for the medias hostility to hydroxychloroquine is obvious: Trump expressed enthusiasm for the treatment, so liberals are required to take the opposite position.

Its just like the Democrats recent infatuation with open borders. Until Trump, nearly every Democrat was for or claimed to be for border security, deporting criminal aliens and ending the anchor baby scam.

But as the Times Frank Bruni said, Democrats are defining themselves as antonyms to Trump. Why else, he wondered, would Democrats push policies like open borders, which wont go down well with many of the voters the party needs?

Perhaps we could use this liberal neurosis to our advantage. To re-open the country, we need Trump to come out against it.

Ann Coulter is the writer of 12 best-selling books, including In Trump We Trust.

Continued here:

ANN COULTER: Liberalism, like the Wuhan virus, will never die - MDJOnline.com

Growing up in an evangelical church, 16-year-old Jonathan Brower loved the sense of community it brought and even attended Baptist bible camps.

At the time, his parents were going through a divorce. He sought out a Christian therapist to support him in dealing with the situation.

That was when Brower told his therapist he was gay, and his journey through conversion therapy began.

It was always sort of a good experience until I started like hearing from the pulpit that it was not okay to be gay, Brower, who is now 35, said in an interview with the Toronto Observer from his home B.C.

As his teen years merged into young adulthood, Brower soon realized that conversion therapy was more harmful than helpful.

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, seeks to correct a persons sexual orientation or gender identity on the basis of misconceptions about homosexuality. Through the years, the acceptance of diverse sexual orientations and genders have spread across Canada, but not without some scrutiny. Religious leaders in particular insist that conversion therapy is mandatory, but others believe the practice can do irreparable psychological damage.

The federal Liberals are standing with the LGBTQ community and has introduced a bill to ban conversion therapy nationwide.

Currently, its only illegal some places three provinces across Canada, and in the cities of Vancouver, St. Albert, and recently, Calgary.

Conversion therapy can include everything from electroshock therapy to psychological torment. For Brower, who did conversion therapy four times, it meant writing down all of your sins related to what you were dealing with, and nailing them to the cross. He is now among those fighting for it to be criminalized nationwide.

WATCH: Jonathan Brower explains the activities he did while in conversion therapy and sends a message to his younger self:

Campaign Life Coalition, a Canadian pro-life organization focused on defending the sanctity of human life against threats of family values, is one group that supports conversion therapy.

Jesus is the true lover of your soul if you would like help in overcoming unwanted same-sex attraction, the group says on their website, which provides a list of organizations to contact.

A 2019 study by Travis Salway, a social epidemiologist at the University of British Columbia, found more than 20,000 people in Canada have experienced some sort of conversion therapy.

Kristopher Wells, alongside No Conversion Canada, cited Salways study in a report titled Conversion Therapy in Canada: The Roles and Responsibilities of Municipalities, and claimed that due to the lack of tracking around conversion therapy and it still being legal in provinces across Canada, the actual figure may be higher.

In the years 2005, 2009, and 2010, Brower attended the evangelical organization Living Waters (now known as Journey Canada) in Calgary, where he attended courses to prepare him for becoming a volunteer.

Topics about relational and sexual wholeness were brought up in these courses, and were used as ways to cultivate heterosexuality through spiritual teachings.

It was agreed on by everyone that the the sins and the things that we were dealing with were things that needed to be fixed and things that God could help with, Brower said.

On March 9, Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti,alongside Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish Chagger tabled Bill C-8, which would ban conversion therapy in Canada.

If passed, the bill would make the following illegal:

Brower sees this bill as effective at tackling the issue of conversion therapy in Canada, but he believes that the governments inability to create legislation against religious communities or theology, is what does not make this bill secure enough for LGBTQ Canadians.

Its very hard to see that this legislation will impact some of these, like really sneaky organizations, he said.

Nicholas Schiavo of No Conversion Canada, which was founded in 2018, has been fighting for legislation of Bill C-8s calibre since its inception.

A national grassroots coalition, No Conversion Canadas goal is to help federal officials in criminalizing conversion therapy federally and spreading awareness about this barbaric form of abuse.

My kind of thought was (if) we bring them together and (fight) under this name, its a lot harder to ignore us, Schiavo said in a phone interview.

Schiavo was present at the justice ministers announcement, as was religious leader Rev. Cheri DiNovo of of Trinity St. Pauls United Church.

Back when DiNovo was a member of Ontarios New Democratic Party in 2015, she backed Bill 77, which stopped the provincial health plan from covering the costs of conversion therapy and prohibited minors from being subjected to it.

In an interview, she said fear is a motivating factor for some parents who seek it out for their children.

They havent done much reading on it and theyre scared for their children and, and they need information, she said.

Many parents turn to leaders in their faith communities for advice when their children tell them they are LGBTQ+. But not all religious leaders are accepting of homosexuality, and that can lead to advice that is often harmful and uninformed, she said.

Its really incumbent upon people in whatever faith they find themselves, to be knowledgeable, to study their scripture, to understand theology (and) to stand with the oppressed, DiNovo said.

Today, Brower stands as new person, a stark contrast to his 16-year-old self. Brower, who is friends with Schiavo and has been supporting No Conversion Canadas fight against conversion therapy from the sidelines, has created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth through his profession: theatre.

Before residing in British Columbia with his partner Kyall Rakoz, Brower created YOUth Riot, a queer youth playwriting program in Calgary.

Read more from the Toronto Observer:

We would bring in professional theatre artists, and guests to help train the youth and help them build their own play, Brower said.

The program has been going on for six years.

When asked about what he would tell his teenage self, entering conversion therapy for the first time, Brower said:

Jonathan, youre trying so hard to be what you think, God and everybody else wants you to be. And in reality, the reason Gods not answering your prayers for healing is because you already are, who he wants you to be.

Related

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LGBTQ+ and Christian Canadians applaud Liberal government's move to ban conversion therapy - The Toronto Observer

Long, long ago around the end of January Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli submitted a written question about a loan for $196 million that was written off by Export Development Canada.

Who received the loan, what was it for and why was it written off, he asked, not unreasonably.

He has just received the answer from Global Affairs Canada, a department notorious for its imperiousness when it comes to public accountability.

The transaction in question was export-related and deemed to be in Canadas national interest, he was told.

That was all Baldinelli, or you and I, are entitled to know. Any more details would breach confidentiality rules and customer privilege.

It is extremely disappointing to receive a non-response like this. We are talking about tax dollars generated by hard-working Canadians, he said.

In the absence of a sitting parliament, this is the kind of brush-off that governments can get away with. The House of Commons is often derided but it helps keep the government honest by airing its dirty laundry in public.

Even in the billions here, billions there days of emergency relief spending, $200 million is real money. The loan came from the Canada Account, a politically directed program that is administered by EDC but usually involves projects the export credit agency wouldnt touch with a 10-foot pole.

There have been 15 loans worth more than $100 million since 2001 almost all of them political hobby-horses of the government of the day such as the TransMountain pipeline; Bombardier; the automotive bailouts to Chrysler and GM; General Dynamics Land Systems (light armoured vehicles) and the Davie shipyard in Quebec. There is no official confirmation which deal has been written off but sources said EDC extended loans to Norwegian sub-sea contractor, Cecon, at a time when it was a member of the partnership that bought the Davie yard in 2012.

Cecon commissioned three offshore construction vessels from Davie but went through a debt restructuring in 2015 that saw creditors take a hit. The loans to Chrysler were written off and publicized because the company agreed to make the terms public.

Parliament is the best whistle-blower on government misbehaviour

But in this case, the government is hiding behind a provision in the Export Development Act that says customers are privileged and the information may not be disclosed.

Why? If the loan is written off, the taxpayer is on the hook. Why shouldnt we know who has stiffed us?

Write-offs are a last resort and are rare, the government claims. When requested it is because writing the loan off is deemed to be in the best interests of Canada and Canadians.

I like my coffee dark and my governments transparent. I can see why writing off $200 million and burying the bad news might be good for the party in power but how could it possibly be in the best interest of Canadians?

Baldinelli said he plans to asks colleagues on the international trade committee to raise the issue when Parliament returns.

The ardour for truth may diminish if the Conservatives realize they were in power when the bad loan was extended.

But the point remains valid Parliament is the best whistle-blower on government misbehaviour the custodian of the nations freedom, in the words of John Diefenbaker.

No party has a monopoly on wisdom and, as Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet pointed out in the House during last Saturdays emergency sitting, improvements were made to the emergency response benefit after Canadians contacted MPs of all parties.

When the House will reconvene remains a matter under discussion.

The motion suspending the House of Commons proposed MPs return on April 20 but there is no deal in place to either resume sittings or to delay until the technology is in place to hold a virtual parliament something the Speaker of the House says may take weeks.

The prime minister has said he prefers the idea of a virtual sittings. He probably prefers not having to answer awkward questions at all.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said the sitting last Saturday showed the benefits of face-to-face debates.

Quebec Conservative MP Bernard Gnreux used the opportunity to call for the government to extend the emergency response benefit to part-time and seasonal workers, and to amend the wage subsidy to include small businesses with a payroll lower than $50,000. The government has since acted on both demands.

I like my coffee dark and my governments transparent

Scheer said regular accountability sessions are needed to ask the government why it has relied so heavily on advice from the World Health Organization, why Health Canada hasnt fast-tracked new medications and why some people are still falling through the benefits cracks. This cannot wait until June or the fall. Parliament must get back to work, he said at a press conference on Thursday.

In the U.K., the House of Commons has proposed hybrid proceedings that will see up to 50 MPs in the chamber of the House and 120 members taking part in proceedings via video conferencing.

The most abrupt departure in 700 years of parliamentary history is due to start next Wednesday and Canadians will be watching closely.

The government has had free rein for five weeks. It is time it was reined in.

Scheer is right when he says, now more than ever, Parliament is an essential service.

Email: jivison@postmedia.com | Twitter:

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John Ivison: The Liberal government has had free rein for five weeks. It is time it was reined in - National Post

If there is one positive thing that can be said about this terrible plague were enduring, it is that now and then, it gives the Trudeau government some really, really great ideas.

Sure it was only a couple of weeks ago that the Liberals came up with the idea that they a minority in Parliament, remember should give themselves the power to tax and spend for the next two years, without having to get parliamentary approval. It was a truly brilliant idea, except that it ignored the fact that approving government spending is one of the most important functions of Parliament. Take away its authority over spending and the House of Commons might just as well be any old bingo hall, or with a little imaginative renovation, a one-of-a-kind Costco store.

Now, compliments of Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc, we learned that the Liberal government is contemplating legislation to make it an offence to, as a CBC report put it, knowingly spread misinformation that could harm people. In plain language, this government is openly thinking of making itself the official censor of what can and cannot be said about COVID-19. Pure brilliance again, dont you agree?

Well, actually, no. Dont even think of it. Better still, to borrow a phrase from Greta Thunberg: how dare you? There is already a government that has that power, and in some cases brutally exercises it. That is the government of the Communist Party of China.

And what has it done with that power? It barred telling the truth about COVID-19, and instead told lies about it. On the where it happened, when it happened, how it happened and how it spread, the Chinese government confounded, confused and lied about a plague that has now hobbled the whole planet. And China officially reprimanded the doctor who initially tried to warn people about the coronavirus, and who, with dread irony, actually died from it. (A postmortem apology followed from the government. That surely helped.) Admire the Chinese government if thats your thing, but on this subject, it is not an example to be followed.

So, lets tap this serpent of an idea on its little head before its fangs emerge and it develops a real appetite. The problem with government having control over what is said and written, completely aside from it being the utter contradiction of a liberal democracy, is that governments especially on a matter such as this pandemic are simply not competent enough to know what is right and what is wrong.

What is required for a government to pass a law against misinformation? To begin with, it presumes an infallible authority thats able to make judgments on what is, or is not, correct information. Even worse, it presumes the government has the ability to make judgments on a matter that, incontestably, is not yet fully understood by anybody.

This virus is new. The investigation of its nature, transmission, the best policies to confront it, the extent of the response to it, even the nature of the response all of these elements are, at best, in an incomplete and early stage of understanding.

Experts have varying degrees of skill and knowledge. If experts disagree, which happens often, will some of them be silenced? In actuality, a divergence of opinions can be seen as a path to the full truth emerging. But this cannot happen if the government gags those who may seem to be wrong at the present moment.

On the purely political front, there are equal objections to giving government censorship powers. Governments take to extensions of their power like bears to honey. The more power they get, the more they believe they alone should exercise it. Power swells the ego. Add more power, and if you follow the analogy, a little balloon soon thinks its the Hindenburg. And a government swollen with power does not like other voices.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau barred the leader of the Opposition from joining talks with other opposition leaders because, in Trudeaus own memorable words, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer disqualified himself from constructive discussions with his unacceptable speech earlier today.

Yet it is not for Trudeau, or any other prime minister, to determine what is acceptable speech from his constitutionally positioned critic, the leader of the Opposition. Nor is it proper for this minority government, which has had enough struggles of its own over misinformation on masks, on screening at airports, on our relative security from the pandemic to decide what the rest of us can, and cannot, say or write about this unique crisis.

National Post

Continued here:

Rex Murphy on COVID-19: The power to censor speech and other great ideas from our Liberal overlords - National Post

It has been revealed former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was prepared to "bankroll" The Guardian Australia despite it being one of the "most left-wing outfits in the whole world" says Sky News contributor Cory Bernardi.Mr Turnbull outlined in his forthcoming memoir, 'A Bigger Picture', how he helped introduce the UK editor of the the Guardian Alan Rusbridger with the man who would bankroll its Australian counterpart, Graeme Wood.He did so, Mr Turnbull writes, because he was "beginning to despair about the state of Australian journalism."Mr Bernardi said these revelations show Mr Turnbull is "not a Liberal, he was never really a Liberal, he's one of these people who will be whatever he needs to be to get where he wants to go".He told Sky News host Peta Credlin Malcolm Turnbull was a "disaster for a the Liberal Party, and he nearly destroyed the Liberal Party".Image: AP

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Malcolm Turnbull 'nearly destroyed the Liberal Party' - Sky News Australia

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several other northeastern governors are reportedly developing a plan they hope will thwart attempts by President Donald Trump to influence how and when they reopen their states' economies.

According to Reuters, Cuomo has hired high-powered consultants from McKinsey & Company to produce models on "testing, infections, and other key data points that will underpin decisions on how and when to reopen the region's economy." Cuomo has also recalled former top aides as part of the effort.

The goal is to "Trump-proof" the plan, an adviser to New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy told Reuters.

A Cuomo adviser added, "We think Trump ultimately will blink on this, but if not, we need to push back, and we are reaching out to top experts and other professionals to come up with a bullet-proof plan" to open the economy on the states' terms.

A McKinsey adviser confirmed to the news agency that consultants are providing analysis on testing demand and availability, supply chain for important supplies, virus projections, and hospital capacity.

Cuomo, Murphy, and governors from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Massachusetts formed a coalition Monday to work on a coordinated plan to reopen their economies as the coronavirus pandemic dies down. Of the seven states, only one has a Republican governor Massachusetts.

Three governors from the West Coast states, California, Oregon, and Washington, also formed a coalition Monday. On Thursday, seven Midwestern states followed suit.

The New York Times noted that the northeastern coalition announcement "appeared to be an implicit rebuke to President Trump."

Trump, who had previously desired to reopen the economy by Easter but later decided to extend social distancing guidelines until April 30, has been sensitive to the consequences of a long-term economic shutdown since the start of the outbreak. He had been growing increasingly frustrated with Democratic governors who appeared more comfortable with the idea of continuing economic shutdowns in their states.

During a White House press briefing on Monday, Trump argued that he possesses "total authority" in regard to reopening the economy after a crisis. It wasn't immediately clear what the president meant by this statement, but nonetheless, the clash with governors over who has the power to reopen the economy had evidently reached a boiling point.

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Cuomo, liberal Northeast governors hatching 'Trump-proof' plan to reopen economies without the president's influence: report - TheBlaze

The global pandemic has disrupted all of higher education, but perhaps no sector in it more than liberal arts colleges. Our bread-and-butter is close personalized interaction between faculty mentors and students. We provide students with a holistic living-learning environment that COVID-19 and remote learning has abruptly upended.

Dr. Sonia Cardenas

But a liberal arts education is about much more than where we teach and learn. It provides students with lifelong skills and a broad base of knowledge. To be sure, these skills and knowledge translate into jobs and earnings over a lifetime. They also produce societal outcomes that we can no longer afford to ignore.

The decisions made across every sector of society in preventing and responding to crises are shaped by what the people making those decisions know, how they think, and what they value. This is the real power of a college education and a liberal-arts one in particular.

We overlook the societal impact of education when we think of higher education only in individualized terms (job outcomes) or equate quality with institutional reputation (college rankings). As important as jobs and rankings are, the global pandemic illustrates that we need to care more about what and how students learn.

Below are 25 ways in which a liberal arts education can shape our quality of life as a society. All of these are learning outcomes linked to a broad-based personalized education that is rooted in the liberal arts and reinforced through real-world experiences. Liberal arts students learn how to grapple with hard, enduring questions mirroring the messiness of life. They learn how to think, not just what to think.

In navigating this new remote world, lets not lose sight of the kind of society we want and need to be. Lets make value-based decisions, not fear-based ones, about our educational systems. Our society will need liberal arts graduates now more than ever before. Regardless of their career path, liberal arts graduates will be broadly prepared to make the world better.

Dr. Sonia Cardenas is acting dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs, and professor of political science at Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

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Why Society Will Need Liberal Arts Graduates - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education