A trusted colleague recently said to me, playfully, at our morning Daily Citizen editorial meeting, “Glenn, that’s an inside-your-head thought, not a say-it-out-loud thought.” She was right. Not saying everything that passes through our mind is a part of being an adult and good community member.
But things are getting very much out of hand in this regard in American and other countries. Self-censorship – the practice of holding back speaking certain reasonable thoughts and convictions because we fear people’s reactions – is on the rise in concerning ways.
A new Harvard Kennedy School poll of young adults (aged 18-29) demonstrates this.
A dramatic 47% of young Americans say they “avoid talking about politics because I worry about how others might react.” Interestingly, young Republicans are markedly more likely at 54% to say this compared to their democrat and independent peers.
Add to this the fact that young adult republicans are notably more likely than their democrat or independent peers to confess “people often make me feel judged when I share my political views.” The report admitted this, explaining, “These concerns are most pronounced among Republicans: nearly half (48%) agree that they often feel judged, compared with 30% of Democrats and 28% of independents.”
Fear of speaking honestly in public has been happening among college and university faculty as well. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) most recent report on policing of speech codes on campus details how out of hand this has gotten and the emotional toll it has taken. Of professors that have had their professional communications challenged by student and others, FIRE explains, “Roughly two-thirds (65%) experienced emotional distress, and significant chunks reported facing harrowing social setbacks, such as being shunned at work (40%) or losing professional relationships (47%) and friendships (33%).” Fifty-three percent report having suffered from loss of sleep.
What makes it worse is that college and university administrators failed to support faculty who were criticized by students or the public for stating certain academic beliefs in their writings and the classroom.
FIRE’s 2024 report states, “35% of faculty say they recently toned down their writing for fear of controversy, compared to 9% of faculty who said the same during the McCarthy era.” It also reported that conservative faculty felt the most pressure, being more likely to feel something they said could damage their reputation or cause them to lose their job.
And for good reason. Carol Hooven, a classically liberal professor was run out of Harvard by woke students for merely speaking biological truths. Many professors and teachers have taken notice of her experience and are checking what they say. This is a travesty.
A 2022 report carefully documents the problem of self-censorship is not confined to America. It explains how a “chilling effect” is affecting Christians around the world. This report’s number one conclusion is this: “The Church has allowed itself to be self-censored.” This is a tragedy, as Christians are called to speak truth to a hungry and needy world and resist bullying to stay silent. The report’s conclusion added, “Christian leaders must be doubly prepared to defend their positions.” They must, and with unapologetic boldness.
Speaking to his follow academics, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Samuel Abrams strikes the same tone, “The path back to sanity is not complicated. But it requires courage.”
Courage is required of everyone in this age of woke speech policing. Never be intimidated to say what you know to be true, doing so with conviction, utter confidence, gentleness and respect. Refusing to back down is what bullies fear most. And the woke speech police roaming our culture and school halls today are the new bullies.
They must be resisted.
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