Summary: It’s another sign of America’s decay. As adults, they are unlikely to change their values. Soon two generations of Americans won’t value free speech . These young people are part of America, and eventually will be America. Let’s fix this problem before it is too late.
The Republic seems strong, rock-like, even eternal. But we make America anew each generation. We pass on both the values of America and a love for and allegiance to the Constitution. The next generation becomes America, for good or ill. A sufficiently serious break in this chain can be fatal to the Republic. So this series of posts about decay of the Republic should frighten us, showing our loss of confidence in America’s institutions and fading belief in its values.
The latest news goes to the heart of the problem: college student’s no longer believe in many of America’s core values. Contrast these results with 1964, when the students of Berkeley protested in support of free speech.
“Views among college students regarding the First Amendment:
Results from a new survey.“
By John Villasenor of Brookings., 18 September 2017.
“The survey results establish with data what has been clear anecdotally to anyone who has been observing campus dynamics in recent years: Freedom of expression is deeply imperiled on U.S. campuses. In fact, despite protestations to the contrary (often with statements like ‘we fully support the First Amendment, but…’), freedom of expression is clearly not, in practice, available on many campuses, including many public campuses that have First Amendment obligations.”
Does the First Amendment protect “hate speech”? 39% Yes, 44% No, 16% Don’t Know.
Do you agree with those shouting down speaker who “is known for making offensive and hurtful statements”? 51% Yes, 49% No. That shows that professors are training a generation of sheep. That will be useful for the New America that’s coming.
“In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself. …The animals would still assemble on Sunday mornings to salute the flag, sing ‘Beasts of England’, and receive their orders for the week; but there would be no more debates.
“In spite of the shock that Snowball’s expulsion had given them, the animals were dismayed by this announcement. …Four young porkers in the front row uttered shrill squeals of disapproval, and all four of them sprang to their feet and began speaking at once. …Then the sheep broke out into a tremendous bleating of ‘Four legs good, two legs bad!’ which went on for nearly a quarter of an hour and put an end to any chance of discussion.” {From George Orwell’s Animal Farm
Do you agree with those who use violence to prevent speech by someone who ”is known for making offensive and hurtful statements”? 19% Yes, 81% No. That 19% is sufficient to spark large-scale violence, especially when much of the other 81% is quietly sympathetic.
Let’s drill down to see some patterns in the answers.
The author’s solution
“More fundamentally, I think that there is insufficient attention given to the First Amendment, and to constitutional principles generally, in pre-college education. …We don’t need to turn middle and high school students into experts on constitutional law. But we can do a better job of giving them a fuller explanation of the scope of the First Amendment, and the fact that it protects the expression of offensive views.
“And, I would hope that we can do a better job at convincing current and future college students that the best way to respond to offensive speech is with vigorous debate, or peaceful protest — and not, as many seem to believe, with violence.”
This is more hopeful than logical. What changed to produce this generation of free speech opponents? Do their values come largely from the curriculum, from school, or from parents and the overall social environment?
What if this generation’s beliefs come from their teachers, from grade-school to professors? What will make those teachers and professors change their beliefs? More patriotic exhortations and op-eds?
The problem is bigger than you think
In these op-eds Catherine Rampell, a writer at the WaPo, describes what researchers have learned about this problem. It is big and deep. We are doing little to solve it.
- For more about this study:”A chilling study shows how hostile college students are toward free speech” (source of the WaPo graphs above).
- For more evidence of weakening support for free speech: “Young fogies: Modern illiberalism is led by students.“
- Students are arriving at college with illiberal views “Liberal intolerance is on the rise on America’s college campuses.”
- Americans are “abandoning these shared values and drifting toward authoritarianism and mob rule” — “Americans are burning down the house.“
Conclusions
All the commentary I have seen on this study ignores two stark facts. First, the beliefs of these young people are set. They might change, but probably cannot be changed by the exhortations and op-eds. We probably will have to a generation of semi-authoritarians for the next fifty years. Let’s hope they do not find a cause or leader that unifies them them to move against the Republic.
Now for the bad news: the processes (whatever they are) that produced this generation is probably still at work. Each year will bring to America a new generation that does not share the core values of America-that-once-was — unless we discover the cause and fix it. That should be our priority. Moralizing and whining won’t help.
Now for the worst news: this is just one aspect of a growing loss of confidence and belief in America. It will be terminal for the Republic if not fixed.
For More Information
We can fix America. See the suggestions in Reforming America: steps to a new politics.
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts about politics in America, about the Trump years in America, about fascism, and especially these…
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A powerful book about America
The Age of Responsibility
“A novel focus on ‘personal responsibility’ has transformed political thought and public policy in America and Europe. Since the 1970s, responsibility ― which once meant the moral duty to help and support others―has come to suggest an obligation to be self-sufficient. This narrow conception of responsibility has guided recent reforms of the welfare state, making key entitlements conditional on good behavior.
“Drawing on intellectual history, political theory, and moral philosophy, Yascha Mounk shows why the The Age of Responsibility
“Personal responsibility began as a conservative catchphrase. But over time, leaders across the political spectrum came to subscribe to its underlying framework. Today, even egalitarian philosophers rarely question the normative importance of responsibility. Emphasizing the pervasive influence of luck over our lives, they cast the poor as victims who cannot be held responsible for their actions.
“Mounk shows that today’s focus on individual culpability is both wrong and counterproductive: it distracts us from the larger economic forces determining aggregate outcomes, ignores what we owe our fellow citizens regardless of their choices, and blinds us to other key values, such as the desire to live in a society of equals. Recognizing that even society’s neediest members seek to exercise genuine agency, Mounk builds a positive conception of responsibility. Instead of punishing individuals for their past choices, he argues, public policy should aim to empower them to take responsibility for themselves―and those around them.”