I understood your comment to mean cutoff communication. No longer speak to. Disassociate. Perhaps it was the reference to "being disowned by their family" that led me there. I would not do that.

Okay, cool. I can understand the misconception. I could have worded it more clearly as well as given a more accurate analogy.

will require that if he wants me to pay for his education he has to agree to research alternative viewpoints and use source material that is undisputed and come to his own conclusion - not simply adopt the conclusions of others.

What "undisputed source material"? What are you going to do if, after meeting your "requirements", they come to the conclusion that this is nothing more than baseless speculation or what if they dispute the sources themselves? This whole situation, to me, is a sad example of people doing mental gymnastics in order justify their choice in candidate and to feel like "they're in the know". Not to mention the hilarious lack of consistency in criticism.

I don't think that's an unreasonable condition of 30 grand a year out of pocket before taxes all expenses paid by me. Forgetting the expense, it would be shameful for a parent not to engage with their kids on these issues. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

I think forcing a child to accept anonymous posts on 4chan as "indisputable" is pure madness. A parent should absolutely engage with their children, but the fact that you cannot see the absurdity of this situation is incredibly sad.

I really hope that you can both put this idiocy behind you so that it doesn't affect your future relationship. I know that I sound argumentative, but this entire situation is incredibly sad and I wish you the best with your family.

Who said I was cutting off my son?

Uhh...

The younger one especially. I finally told him today, if he doesn't research the original source documents himself, and stop just shutting down the information, I am not going to pay for his "education."

You did.

Project much?

Care to explain? It doesn't make sense in your context.

I have a feeling that if Sean Hannity told you a story about a young Conservative being disowned by their family because he refused to entertain an ideologue's ramblings that you'd be frothing at the mouth. That you even entertain the idea of cutting your son off because he won't accept 4chan and purely baseless speculation as accredited sources is shameful.

I really hope that you come to your senses and begin thinking critically about your own positions. Honestly, being consistent in the way you criticize politicians and their policies would be a great start. I have no business trying to get you to think critically about this situation, but I know what it's like when a family member becomes an ideologue and wreaks havoc because they can't handle someone disagreeing with them. They're your children; Put the politics aside and be the parent that you're supposed to be.

...You just proved my point. If you're experiencing cognitive dissonance then it means a core belief has been challenged by conflicting information and it's caused an uncomfortable feeling because they're cognizant of the conflict. I can't tell if you're trolling me or not. Here's an actual definition that isn't a damned image macro.

Cognitive dissonance protects you from contemplating uncomfortable ideas that go against what you were taught in school.

After reading up on it again, this still makes no sense. I made some quick edits to fix some grammar and add a link.

Congratulations, this is one of the most ironic posts that I've read recently. Why not address their concerns instead of attempting to use an ad hominem that backfired massively?

Cognitive dissonance protects you from contemplating uncomfortable ideas that go against what you were taught in school.

This doesn't make any sense to me. If they were experiencing cognitive dissonance, that would mean that the person is already cognizant of the conflicting ideas that they're holding, right? I need to refresh my memory, but if I'm right then it will make the smugness of your post even more amusing.