The twin ideals of open inquiry and free expression are core to the mission of any great university, but those are ideals that must be fought for—both historically and in the present day. The culture wars are making a battlefield of our campuses, with speech and research under assault from without and within, via poorly considered legislation and intolerant viewpoint policing. It’s tempting for scholars to simply stay quiet, but we can embrace a principled neutrality that will allow for vigorous discussion—one that will move these skirmishes from a battlefield to the marketplace of ideas.
