Small: Higher education has an extremist problem

Higher education has an extremist problem

By Jonathan Small

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has shoved uncomfortable truths into the light. Among them is that the fringe-left views aggressively promoted on college campuses have morphed into an active embrace of assassination culture.

Anecdotal evidence abounds as many college students and faculty have publicly cheered Kirk’s murder. Sadly, those statements are not uncommon. Instead, polling consistently shows such views are concentrated among young Americans who have embraced far-left ideology.

Recent polling by YouGov found 24 percent of individuals who self-describe as “very liberal” say it is acceptable to be happy about a public figure’s death, compared to only 3 percent of those who self-describe as “very conservative.”

Similarly, one-in-four “very liberal” respondents said political violence can be justified, compared to only 3 percent of “very conservative” voters.

Support for political violence was greatest among young liberals in the survey.

On April 7, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) issued a brief that warned, “Political violence targeting Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly normalized. Following the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of President Trump, tolerance – and even advocacy – for political violence appears to have surged, especially among politically left-leaning segments of the population.”

The NCRI’s survey of 1,264 U.S. residents showed that among respondents who self-identified as left of center, 50 percent to 56 percent at least somewhat justified murder for Elon Musk and President Trump.

“A broader ‘assassination culture’ appears to be emerging within segments of the U.S. public on the extreme left,” NCRI warned.

Other polls have produced similar results: Younger citizens on the liberal fringe are increasingly advocates of violence and terrorism as a political tactic.

That radical worldview is the product of the U.S. higher education system, where a toxic brew of Marxist philosophy and identity politics has become ever-more extreme. On college campuses, it has become common to claim a “trans genocide” is underway if people simply express disagreement with the idea that a man can become a woman. College officials have argued that “words are violence” and “silence is violence” – meaning that if someone disagrees with you, or simply refuses to express agreement with your views, you are justified in responding with actual violence.

Yet the “social justice” crowd that has promoted this extreme worldview at colleges now wants us to ignore the obvious connection between their philosophies and real-world violence.

For years, businesses have complained that our universities produce graduates who are not prepared for the workforce. Now, employers must worry that job applicants are not only unqualified, but also potential violent extremists.

As a state, we can survive if college is a waste of taxpayer money, but not if college becomes an active and ongoing detriment to our society.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.