A prophet unheeded …

… Jacques Barzun and the Tragedy of ‘Race Thinking’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

One of the consequences is the family tradition of “no religion or politics at the dining table”. He wrote about these pressures long before formalhouse rules on conversation appeared on campus with laws and codes related to “hate speech”, trigger warnings and the demand for safe spaces where only approved ideas may be expressed. Barzun advocated practices and procedures to free the flow of conversation and facilitate the nuanced consideration of divisive issues, noting any rules dictating what can and cannot be discussed will always be designed to restrict free speech, avoid controversial issues and kill the capacity of students to think critically and imaginatively about them.