The erosion of freedom of speech on today’s college campuses
“A scarier agenda for today’s student militants,” Oct. 1 Vincent Carroll column.
Kudos to Vincent Carroll for his incisive piece on the erosion of freedom of speech on campuses, describing alarming recent events and the risks they portend. Michael Shermer, in his September Scientific American column titled “Postmodernism vs. Science,” similarly decries the modern liberal trend supplanting sciencebased college studies with those resting on progressive tenets of righting societal power asymmetries and perceived injustices — articles of faith as surely as any religious doctrine.
Our right to free speech has never guaranteed polite public discourse. But today’s insidious march is toward a legal framework propping up the cultural expectation to be coddled and protected from strife. Many recent Denver Post articles have demonstrated the author’s ignorance that so-called “hate speech” is not illegal.
Having recently retired from 33 years in aerospace, I witnessed ever-increasing restrictions on speech, instigated by legal requirements to provide a “non-hostile” work environment. ●●● In college I prepared for a teaching profession and believed all sides of any issue should be taught to students, who then had the God-given ability to make up their own minds. I watched high school friends go to Vietnam and college friends protest. Vietnam was a passionate topic, but I never felt threatened when speaking out one way or the other. I listened to Joan Baez and Ronald Reagan when they visited my Boulder campus.
Rebelling against authority is a right of passage for the young. However, today’s college campuses are infested with student fascists. Some reasons, I believe, lie with my ’60s generation that procreated a divisive spirit in this country. It also lies with the educational system, where economics, government, civics and American history are marginalized. Another reason is the lemming-like mentality fostered by social media. I’m hoping common sense will prevail.