Our report, “Defending Civilization,” documents academe’s disturbingly ambivalent response to the Sept. 11 attacks. You assert that we accuse professors of anti-American statements, unpatriotic behavior and disloyal acts—but these words are never used in the report.
You quote a professor as saying there is a “whiff of McCarthyism,” but we say free speech should be “passionately defended.” You say others talked of a blacklist, though the only “list” is the citations that document the campus response.
As you noted, our major recommendation is restoring requirements in American history and Western civilization.
This country is in a life-or-death struggle. The enemy may strike at any place, with any weapons. We need to have the moral clarity to call evil by its name. And we need to understand the civilization we are defending. That was the point of our report.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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