If you think your political side is always right, you’re not thinking critically

A Princeton study found that 99 of the 101 faculty members who made reportable political contributions during the 2023–24 election cycle gave to Democrats or Democratic-affiliated groups. Two gave to independents. Zero gave to Republicans.

That does not prove every Princeton professor is a Democrat. It does not prove professors are indoctrinating students. But it does show something that should make people uncomfortable: political viewpoint diversity among the faculty who made reportable contributions was extremely limited.

And this is where I think people miss the bigger problem.

If you automatically believe Democrats are right because you are liberal, or Republicans are right because you are conservative, you have already surrendered part of your critical thinking.

Both parties have incentives to protect their own side. Both parties spin failures. Both parties highlight evidence that helps them and downplay evidence that hurts them.

The point of critical thinking is not to find a political team and defend it.

It is to be willing to say:

Democrats are wrong here.

Republicans are wrong there.

This politician is right on this issue and completely wrong on another.

You can support a candidate in one election and oppose them in the next.

You can agree with a policy without joining the party that supports it.

And you can change your mind when the evidence changes.

That is independence.

A university should be one of the places where students learn how to question assumptions, challenge arguments and examine competing evidence.

If the people doing the teaching overwhelmingly come from one political camp, that does not automatically mean the education is indoctrination.

But pretending political homogeneity doesn’t matter is just as intellectually lazy as pretending it proves indoctrination.

Don’t teach kids which political team to join.

Teach them how to catch both teams lying.