CAIR is playing the cards we've dealt it

Submitted by Pat (United States), Sep 2, 2006 at 22:02

The loss of academic freedom predates 9/11 by as much as two decades. The executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has said that colleges and universities routinely punish students and faculty for their speech, their writing and even their membership in campus groups.

CAIR is simply playing the hand it has been dealt by university elites. Hate speech codes enshrined in university codes of conduct have pretty much made it a crime to offend someone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and now, apparently, so is the definition of free speech. There is no objective measurement, such as the "seven dirty words" that broadcasters kept off the public airwaves. Gone are the days when we would defend anyone's right to speak, so long as they didn't shout fire in a crowded theater or incite lawbreaking. The very act of speaking, if the wrong person or group feels provoked, can be considered an act of incitement worthy of termination of employment, or worse. Public officials and personalities frequently find themselves held to a similar standard. In the publc sphere, we call it political correctness.

CAIR is not the villain here. They didn't write the rules of this game. We did.

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