Over the past five years, though, another kind of press criticism has come to prominence after a period of marginalization. This brand of press criticism takes a free and independent press as a necessity for life in a democratic society. Instead of seeking to delegitimize the press, these critics are simultaneously explaining the workings of the press to the public and holding it accountable in its role as the public’s representative and watchdog.

The commencement tempest this year has taken place at three schools: Rutgers, Smith, and Haverford. At each, students simply have spoken out against the selection of speakers that were foisted on their graduation ceremonies by college administrators or wealthy trustees. And at each, the invited speakers themselves withdrew after students leveled their criticism. 

Political correctness first took over America’s institutions of higher learning in the 1970s – then quickly captured the media and entertainment industries. Jobs can be lost, careers destroyed, reputations sullied for merely saying what the P.C. police deem unacceptable. The muzzle that political correctness has become doesn’t just affect those who are voicing sincere religious beliefs either. It has come to hinder what we say about almost everything .