April 30, 2023
The Supreme Court needs to revisit its flawed ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan.
Writing in First Things, Professor Scott Yenor of Boise State University details the recent attempt to “cancel” him. Yenor’s cancellable offense was that he gave a speech at the 2021 National Conservatism Conference in which he argued that restoration of the family requires a return to “sex-role realism,” that is, “an unapologetic celebration of the fact that men and women want and do different things.” As part of his argument, Yenor contended that it is counterproductive for society to expend so much energy trying to recruit women into male-dominated majors and professions. Yenor was subjected to a campaign of condemnation by left-wing activists who sought to get him fired from his university job for expressing these views which, while controversial, are hardly hateful or an inducement to violence. Happily, they failed in the end, though Yenor no doubt feels that the process itself (including a Title XI inquiry that might have led to his dismissal) was itself a considerable punishment for his heterodoxy.
Yenor’s account reminds us that “cancel culture” depends on a larger corruption of culture in our institutions and in our country. Most obviously, cancel culture can only get a foothold in higher education if universities step away from such principles as academic freedom and freedom of speech. The academy is meant to stand for rational inquiry. Such inquiry is impossible if expressions of unpopular opinions are turned into occasions of virulent denunciation aimed at destroying reputations and ending careers.
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