Consider, for example, the way they were nattering on about such issues at the University of Delaware. As has been widely reported, a consciousness-raising program, orchestrated by the university and carried out by a cadre of Resident Assistants, aimed at (among other things) rooting out “racism” and other non-progressive attitudes about subjects like homosexuality, patriotism, the environment, capitalism, etc. Who or what is a racist? The training materials for those entrusted with overseeing the mandatory program in “diversity awareness” explain:
A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e. people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture, or sexuality.
This episode had a happy ending, due largely to the intervention of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (F.I.R.E.), the admirable Philadelphia-based organization that has done an immense amount to combat political correctness and preserve individual rights on campus. After protracted correspondence with university officials, F.I.R.E. managed to bring enough notoriety to Delaware’s outrageous program of politically correct indoctrination that the university’s new president, Patrick T. Harker, ended the program. What would be worth investigating is how many such programs of moral and political indoctrination are proceeding unimpeded at other colleges and universities?
In this issue, we are pleased to present our sixth annual special section on art. Regular readers know that The New Criterion has always paid close attention to the contemporary art world in all its multifariousness. But we’ve found that devoting a large portion of an issue to the subject results in illuminating synergies and observations. This year’s section on art, overseen by our Managing Editor James Panero, offers an exceptionally engaging series of reflections on the pulse of artistic life.
