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I suppose this in not in a direct way a post about Social Media, it's instead, a post about how certain views are exposed, in fact, taught in universities, not on their merit, or not, but because some rich donors think that people ought to become familiar and perhaps, adopt those points of view - aiming the future leaders who go to the more expensive Universities and Educational Institutions as covered in CEOs Pushing Ayn Rand Studies Use Money to Overcome Resistance and Who is John Galt?

Where does pushing what you believe in cross the line?

CEOs Pushing Ayn Rand Studies Use Money to Overcome Resistance

By Matthew Keenan

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Ayn Rand's novels of headstrong entrepreneurs' battles against convention enjoy a devoted following in business circles. While academia has failed to embrace Rand, calling her philosophy simplistic, schools have agreed to teach her works in exchange for a donation.

The charitable arm of BB&T Corp., a banking company, pledged $1 million to the University of North Carolina Charlotte in 2005 and obtained an agreement that Rand's novel ``Atlas Shrugged'' would become required reading for students. Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, say they also took grants and agreed to teach Rand.

The author, who died in 1982, used her self-righteous heroes to promote objectivism, a philosophy that embraces reason and individualism, while rejecting religion. While Rand, an advocate of free markets, would support a university's getting paid to teach her works, the idea riles academic ethicists.

``A corporation crosses a line and a university is complicit in crossing the line if it accepts money'' and accedes to a request to assign specific books, said Jonathan Knight, director of the program on academic freedom, tenure and governance for the American Association of University Professors, in Washington. ``It's unique in my experience.'' Knight has worked in the field for 31 years.

Does Ayn Rand and John Galt mean anything to me?  No.  Should they? Yes, I choose to - but should anyone, a rich financier or not, push their views on other people by donating to univerities?   I don't think so.

Does freedom of religion and thought really make us free just so we can put chains on other people?   Is that the purpose of freedom and a free society.

Look, if you want read these authors, and believe in them, fine, but funding institutions so that people will study the stuff - that's crossing the line.  Perhaps there is another way to do it - say a foundation - but let's stay away from influencing educational studies by funding it so as to push the doner's values.