Across The Land

In his book, The End Of Sanity, Martin Gross writes that "blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, new anti-intellectual theories regularly foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something without a name is undermining the nation, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it." What does all of this mean? It means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? Why do you, who are supposed to debate diverse ideas, surrender to their thought suppression? It scares me to death, and it should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of 'reason.' Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators of this rampant epidemic of thought suppression. But what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation? The answer? You simply disobey. Peacefully? yes. Respectfully? of course. Nonviolently? absolutely. But when told what to think and what to say or how to behave, we dissent. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. - Charlton Heston, In A Speech Given At Harvard Law School, February 6, 1999.