God and Man and Mohammed at Yale

Sometime in the Fifties, William Buckley, Jr. wrote a scathing essay about his university called "God and Man at Yale." He was deploring the free-wheeling liberalism of his alma mater: its "godless" academic tradition.

What would Buckley think of Yale today? The Yale University Press is releasing a book next week called The Cartoons That Shook the World, but decided to delete the twelve cartoons which depict Mohammed. This is rather like publishing a book on Impressionism that is devoid of illustrations.

The decision has upset the author, Jytte Klausen. But John Donatich, the director of Yale University Press, said the decision was taken after consulting with "experts" (who never read the manuscript). He said it was based solely on concern that angry Muslim terrorists might resort to violence and attack innocent people, as they did when the cartoons were first published four years ago.

Eli Yale must be turning in his grave.

This is worse than censorship: this is self-censorship. This is knowing what is right and appropriate and deliberately overriding it. And then trying to rationalize the decision.

Let's apply this fright-and-flight reflex to some other areas of
American life:

• Perhaps we should not rebuild the World Trade Center because terrorists might take offense and attack it again.


• Perhaps we should no longer celebrate the sabbath on Sunday.


• Perhaps we should put our women in burkas.

How far can a free -- and frightened -- society go before it ceases to be free?

How can a liberal arts institution keep our respect while it fiddles around with facts and fanatics?

I remember that plaintive Yale drinking song from my undergraduate days at Vassar: "We are poor little sheep who have lost our way....Baa, baa, baa". Indeed they have.

Today, we raise our mugs to the Pale University Press in New Craven, Connecticut.

Comments

[GrahamInCanada]

Donatich: Don-a-tich (verb) (slang) used with object, -ed -ized -ing

to expunge (a creative work) of images considered dangerous or controversial.

See bowlderize.

Origin:

2009. United States of America. After John Donatich, Yale Editor of a book of expunged comics.

[sdskelton03]

Wow Joan.

I have a feeling you picked the wrong blog to post this on. I have a feeling you are about to get pounded for this one.

At some point, reasonable people have to say that if unreasonable people are going to get offended, let them.

[Merlin7]

I agree completely, but weasely obeisance to religion is quite common in American institutions. Consider that blatantly unconstitutional practices continue -- prayers (appeals to supernatural spirits) at government meetings, references to supernatural deities in political speeches, the maintenance of religious slogans carved into government buildings and even a mandatory subsidy of religious institutions by taxpayers in the form of tax breaks.

[GrahamInCanada]

I agree almost completely, except for the last point.

If religious institutions are given a "tax break" does that mean secular institutions are given a "tithe break"?

Sorry, my tongue was in my cheek there. What I meant to say was that failing to tax is not a "tax break", a "tax break" is when you tax but reduce the burden of the tax.

They are given a tax exemption, in other words.

I'd better stop now, how picayune can I get?