• Say that Castro killed about 100,000 political opponents. Student replies, “He got rid of Batista.” Yes, and John Gotti got rid of Paul Castellano. So what? Can that excuse his mafia crimes?
• Say that it’s unconstitutional and stupid to block people from saying “Merry Christmas.” Student replies, “We have separation of church and state.” Not in Constitution and totally irrelevant. What does “state” have to do with my private good wishes?
• Say that puberty blockers, mastectomies, and castration are not treatments for gender identity disorder. Student replies, “A lot of kids feel uncomfortable.” I never met a teen who wasn’t uncomfortable about some aspect of life. Are irreversible treatments the answer to discomfort?

This is not a political argument, where you hear what the other guy says and then react to it. It is similar to Larry, a parrot we used to know. When you turned on the faucet in the kitchen, Larry would say, “Get the water.” The bird was intelligent enough to make a relevant remark, but he added no useful information. Sadly, our schools and universities are training our brightest young people not to think, but merely to recite a mantra like a bird-brain.