Another set of surveys has asked Americans if they feel less free to speak their minds than they used to. Over the last few years, the percentage who say they feel less free has been much higher than it was in past decades.
To deny a rising climate of intolerance in the face of such findings requires believing that the campfire story has been accepted by tens of millions of Americans of varying races and political views. You would have to maintain that all of these people are wrong, and not about some technical point or some abstract matter far removed from their daily experiences. but about their own experiences.
Or you could acknowledge that the campfire story is real. We are becoming less tolerant of differing opinions, less inclined to judge them with open minds or at least charity.
It may not be the most urgent problem in the world. One commentator on cancel culture has sagely observed that Covid-19 is worse. But that it is a problem is becoming increasingly hard to deny. And we may find that our efforts to solve all kinds of problems do not benefit from fear of candid discussion.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.