Utopia Always Morphs To Dystopia

As long as human beings are unique, as long as even one of them thinks independently of others, Utopia is a total pipe dream. Compliance must be forced. Or human beings must cease to be human by giving up their uniqueness. Either . . . Continue reading →

Of Phobias And Victims

Simply put, victimology is the language and currency of our politics. Fighting for victims is a calling and minting new victims and grievances is a trillion-dollar industry. Heroism, fidelity, courage, duty, temperance: Their stock value may be volatile but the long-term trends . . . Continue reading →

On Pushing Back Against Political Correctness

Paddy Chayefsky (1923–81) was a notable American writer in various media (e.g., plays, films, novels). He was most famous for his screenplay for the film Marty. He spoke up briefly, in 1978, against the politicization of everything. (HT: Mollie Hemmingway)

The Infantilization Of American University Students

Another reason students resort to the quasi-medicalized terminology of trauma is that it forces administrators to respond. Universities are in a double bind. They’re required by two civil-rights statutes, Title VII and Title IX, to ensure that their campuses don’t create a . . . Continue reading →

The Root Of Silencing Campaigns

The root of nearly every free-speech infringement on campuses across the country is that someone—almost always a liberal—has been offended or has sniffed out a potential offense in the making. Then, the silencing campaign begins. The offender must be punished, not just . . . Continue reading →

The Affective Revolution In Higher Education

…I have intentionally adjusted my teaching materials as the political winds have shifted. (I also make sure all my remotely offensive or challenging opinions, such as this article, are expressed either anonymously or pseudonymously). Most of my colleagues who still have jobs . . . Continue reading →

The New Inquisition

In retrospect, Kipnis might as well have been a 13th-century monk taunting the Inquisition. She was duly accused of violating Title IX by writing an essay questioning the excesses of Title IX. The university’s investigation of her was about what you would . . . Continue reading →

What’s Going On, Why, And What To Do About It?

…There is indeed a war on the private mind, as Kevin Williamson explained in a recent National Review column. Unfortunately, too many Americans have been sleeping through most of its propaganda battles, and for a very long time. When it comes to . . . Continue reading →

The Handwriting Is On The Wall

The handwriting is on the wall. You need only reflect on how a screaming mob managed to conjure up total surrender from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence so he would reject that state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Catholic Charities is closing its adoption . . . Continue reading →

Bloom Was More Right Than He Knew

In 1987, who could have envisioned the two-year nadir of 2009‒10, when not only the Democrats, but indeed, the very caricatured and politically correct academia of Bloom’s nightmares, would come to control the entire government of the United States: both houses of . . . Continue reading →