Yeah, I’m in near-total agreement with you. I’d made a similar point here:
I’d also actually written a piece last year for Times Higher Education, in which I argued against a rejiggering of admissions standards at elite universities that would result in their focusing more on admitting students who were actively engaged in the community (read social justice warriors) rather than ones who are the more traditional kinds of academic superstars, with the result that we’re going to get even more cocksure activists buzzing around, thinking they know what’s best for everyone else:
My view is that activism can be a great thing when you’re living in a repressive totalitarian regime or stifling theocracy. Then a bit of protesting and agitation is just what we need. But in our already frayed, polarized democracy, activism is just hastening the collapse. As I argue in the article, what we need right now are more deep thinkers reflecting on our circumstances, not more reactive doers making more noise and undermining our already fragile institutions and traditions.
