So-called conservatives believe deeply in protecting the right of everyone on college campuses to express their opinions, including opinions others might find offensive — except when they don’t. They hate the idea of carving up colleges and universities into “safe spaces” — except when they are intent on sending liberal professors packing. The hypocrisy is so thick, you can only cut it with a power saw.
The latest case in point is a bill just approved by the Texas state Senate proclaiming that “A faculty member of an institution of higher education may not compel or attempt to compel a student enrolled at the institution to adopt a belief that any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex, ethnicity, or belief.” Comically, it purports to do this in the name of intellectual diversity.
Imagine an economics professor who, in the tradition of Milton Friedman, wishes to explain to students the virtues of capitalism and the drawbacks of communism or socialism: He would be violating the ban, as capitalism and communism are social and political beliefs. Same with a political science professor who urges democratization and a move away from the divine right of kings.
