During commencement season, a number of speakers were deemed politically impure. Earlier in the spring, Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was outted as a supporter of traditional marriage by gay bloggers and resigned under pressure. More recently, University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock has been under attack. His sin? He’s a consistent liberal who has worked to defend the religious liberty of those with whom he disagrees about gay marriage and other moral issues. But these are just a few publicized incidents of what we all feel. Anyone working for a major corporation, law firm, university, or other establishment institution knows that deviation from progressive causes—especially gay rights—can bring the professional death penalty.
We’re in a Bolshevik moment of sorts. After the February Revolution and the tsar’s abdication, liberals and other reform-minded leaders attempted to run the country. But they were uncertain of their own legitimacy. Unable to master the ongoing social turmoil and faced with the prospect of a military coup, they empowered the Bolsheviks and their militant Red Guard. Those whose ideological clarity justified assassination and intimidation very quickly assumed control.
