This piece by Jill Filipovic on the latest “cancel culture” flap hits on a number of important issues that I think are worthy of airing. I don’t weigh in on this stuff a whole lot because we’re in a period of rapid social transformation that I may not be the best person to interpret. I’m old, I have lived my life in a period of free-wheeling discourse that has had both good and bad effect and I’m frankly not entirely sure of myself. The very definition of academic freedom is being re-defined on a daily basis, for good and ill. My instincts may not be reliable in this area. I’m taking all that in, trying to balance the new information and attitude with my reflexive opposition to restrictions on thought and speech. Having said that, I am not in the least bit insecure about saying that liberals must stand up to religious authoritarianism. If not that, then what? Filipovic gets to that and more. It’s a very thought-provoking read: There’s been a viral story making the rounds over the past week about a truly egregious incident at Hamline University, a small liberal arts college in Minnesota. In a course on global art history, adjunct professor Erika López Prater showed an image of a 14th-century painting that depicted the prophet Muhammad. On the class syllabus, she noted that the course would include images of religious figures, including Buddha and Muhammad, and that students could reach out if they had concerns—none did. Before showing…