Greg Lukianoff’s book Unlearning Liberty is full of examples of professors who model intolerance and zealotry to students, rather than logical argumentation. The Newtown shooting has led to a spate of angry writings by professors who insist on impugning the motives of those who don’t agree that further gun control will accomplish any good, and here is an example — a history professor who proclaims that opponents of gun control (he mentions the GOP, but of course there are lots of non-Republicans who also argue that more laws won’t work and could prove counter-productive) don’t care about the lives of children.

This is an illustration of the way far too many Americans now “argue” — not by confronting the actual arguments made by those they disagree with, but by attacking their character. The higher-education establishment has a lot to do with this ugly trend.