Kerby Anderson

We have seen lots of examples of incivility toward political leaders and public figures. Senator Ted Cruz and his wife were confronted in a Washington, D.C. restaurant and had to leave. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife were accosted while leaving a dinner at Georgetown University. Senator Rand Paul was physically attacked. Tucker Carlson had a leftist group show up at his house and even damaged his front door while his wife cowered in a closet. Columnist Walter Williams argues, “Much of today’s incivility and contempt for personal liberty has its roots on college campuses.” In the past, I have documented some of those attacks against speakers. Charles Murray was harassed and the liberal professor walking by him was attacked and sent to the hospital with injuries. Heather MacDonald had her lectures disrupted at two universities. I have interviewed most of these people I just mentioned and can tell you that they are gracious individuals who would never treat anyone else the way they were treated in public. Walter Williams is right, this disrespectable behavior is taught to them on the college campus. A recent poll conducted by the Brookings Institution found that nearly half (44%) of all college students believe that hate speech is NOT protected by the First Amendment. And since many professors and students label just about anything they don’t like as hate speech, you can see why we have this behavior. The poll also found that more than half (51%) of college students think they have a right to shout down a speaker with whom they disagree. And a smaller percentage (19%) of students think it is acceptable to use violence to prevent a speaker from speaking on campus. Leftist professors and students have taken over many campuses. It is time for administrators and other professors to turn this around. And it is time for us (taxpayers and alumni) to demand changes on campus.