Author name: Chad Banghart

When Debate Becomes Unwelcome: The Erosion of Free Expression on American Campuses Late in February 2026, what should have been a routine academic lecture at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), became yet another symbol of a troubling trend in American higher education. Bari Weiss, editor-in-chief of CBS News and a prominent voice in national journalism, was invited to deliver a prestigious lecture at UCLA’s Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture series about “The Future of Journalism.” Instead, she ultimately withdrew, not due to lacking interest or irrelevance, but because of mounting pressure and threats related to her impending appearance. Campus Pressure And Intimidation Reports indicate that a petition against the event amassed thousands of signatures, and activist groups, including Code Pink, actively campaigned for UCLA to rescind the invitation. Meanwhile, a faculty figure allegedly threatened to resign if the lecture proceeded — a sign that opposition wasn’t limited to students but ran into institutional leadership as well. While UCLA officials claim the event was canceled due to “security concerns,” the bigger picture is unmistakable: a chorus of ideological pressure forced a public speaker to retreat — a chilling victory for viewpoint intolerance. Leadership and the Hypocrisy of Intolerance What makes this episode even more troubling is the reported reaction from within UCLA’s own leadership structure. According to recent reporting, Margaret Peters, the Associate Director of UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations, objected so strongly to Bari Weiss’ appearance that she threatened to resign from her leadership role if Weiss were allowed to speak, even virtually. That detail matters. Universities often defend cancellations or withdrawals by pointing to student activism or outside pressure. But in this case, resistance reportedly extended into the institutional leadership itself. When an associate director of a major academic center signals that even a virtual lecture is unacceptable, it reveals something deeper than a routine disagreement over programming. It reveals that intolerance for opposing viewpoints. The Burkle Center exists to foster discussion, international dialogue, and serious engagement with complex global issues. Leadership at such a center carries with it a responsibility to model intellectual openness. Disagreement with a speaker’s views is expected in academia. Attempting to prevent those views from being heard at all is something very different. If those entrusted with guiding academic dialogue find it intolerable for students to hear perspectives they personally oppose, that raises legitimate questions. How can a center dedicated to international relations and open inquiry function properly if its leadership signals that certain viewpoints are beyond the pale? The irony is difficult to ignore. The very institution charged with expanding discourse appears unwilling to tolerate it. Universities cannot champion intellectual diversity in mission statements while resisting it in practice. When leadership itself becomes a gatekeeper against ideological disagreement, the problem is no longer student activism alone. It becomes structural and structural intolerance is far more concerning than any single protest. Viewpoint Intolerance is an Ongoing Threat In 2026, America faces numerous challenges, but one that strikes at the core of our constitutional republic is the refusal to engage with diverse ideas. Universities, once thought to be bastions of debate, too often become echo chambers where only certain perspectives are permitted without protest or intimidation. When student activists and faculty members exercise their right to protest, that’s part of a healthy civic fabric. But when that pressure escalates to cancellation of scheduled discussions, public institutions are left making impossible choices: either uphold free expression or placate the loudest voices. It’s a false and dangerous choice, and it’s one that chips away at the free marketplace of ideas. Why It Matters American universities are meant to be training grounds for thoughtful citizens, future leaders, and informed voters. If institutions begin to decline hosting viewpoints they find “uncomfortable,” we cosign our students to ideological silos rather than the intellectually rigorous environments they deserve. The cancellation of Bari Weiss’ lecture over security is more than an isolated controversy. It’s a symptom of a broader ongoing pandemic of viewpoint intolerance in our country. We reject the notion that certain ideas must be excluded from public discourse simply because they’re unpopular or provoke discomfort. Free expression isn’t a convenience; it’s a constitutional foundation and a fundamental societal good.

Every four years, Americans pause their divisions and rally around something bigger than politics. We gather as one unified nation to watch athletes walk into a stadium draped in red, white, and blue. We cheer when the Stars and Stripes rise above the podium. We teach our children that wearing “USA” across your chest is an honor. And yet, in recent Olympic cycles, we’ve witnessed a recurring phenomenon: athletes competing under the American flag publicly disparaging the very country they represent — sometimes from the Olympic stage itself. From our perspective, this conversation is not about silencing speech. It is about exposing a growing cultural double standard, one that celebrates certain forms of dissent while stigmatizing expressions of patriotic pride. A Growing Pattern Over the past several years, a number of Team USA athletes have used Olympic-related moments to criticize America in sweeping terms. Gwen Berry turned away from the American flag during the national anthem at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials medal ceremony, later describing the anthem as “disrespectful.” Members of the U.S. Women’s National Team, including Megan Rapinoe, have knelt during the anthem and repeatedly characterized America as structurally oppressive while competing internationally. To navigate Rule 50, which prohibits any form of “demonstration, political, religious, or racial propaganda in any Olympic sites, venues, or other areas,” some athletes have shifted their commentary to sanctioned press conferences or media interviews. For example, Winter Olympic freestyle skier Hunter Hess used post-event media appearances to characterize the United States as fundamentally unjust, even while benefiting from the constitutional freedoms, institutional support, and economic opportunities that uniquely enable American athletes to compete on the global stage. To be clear: these athletes have the constitutional right to speak their mind. The First Amendment protects their speech. That is not in dispute, but rights do not eliminate responsibilities and positive representation carries weight. The Question Few Will Ask Here is the tension that mainstream institutions rarely address: Why is criticism of America on the world stage frequently praised as ‘brave’ while unapologetic expressions of national pride are often labeled extreme, exclusionary, or dangerous? That asymmetry is not tolerance — it is selective validation. In today’s environment: Public denunciations of America are framed as ‘moral courage.’ Open celebration of American exceptionalism is treated with suspicion. Sponsors and governing bodies remain largely silent when athletes disparage the nation. Meanwhile, overtly patriotic speech is often scrutinized or marginalized. If tolerance is the standard, it must apply across the board! The Olympic Platform Is Not A Personal Stage The Olympic Games are not merely a collection of individual performances, rather they are structured around national representation. Athletes march behind their country’s flag, they wear uniforms bearing their nation’s name and they stand beneath that flag during medal ceremonies. This symbolism is not accidental — it is foundational to the Games. Competing in the Olympics is an extraordinary personal achievement, but it is also an act of civic representation. The uniform is not a personal brand extension, the winners podium is not a campaign rally, and the American flag is not a prop. Representation does not require blind allegiance and it does not demand silence about policy disagreements, however, it does invite a measure of humility and respect for the millions of Americans whose identity is bound up in those symbols. America is the country that: Protects the right to dissent without imprisonment. Provides the economic and sponsorship ecosystem that makes elite sports possible. Guarantees the freedoms that allow athletes to criticize it in the first place. There is a profound irony in condemning America from a platform made possible by its constitutional protections. The Cultural Incentive Structure Why does this pattern persist? Because there is little to no institutional cost. When anti-American rhetoric is expressed in or around the Olympics: Media outlets always amplify and defend it. Corporate sponsors continue their support without constraint or withdrawal. Cultural institutions applaud the behavior and describe it as necessary social commentary. But just imagine the reverse. Imagine an athlete unapologetically praising America’s founding ideals without qualification. Imagine a competitor using the podium to celebrate American exceptionalism or criticize radical progressive orthodoxy. Would that athlete be met with equal celebration? Or would investigations, sponsorship pressure, and reputational backlash quickly follow? We do not seek to punish dissent, rather we simply seek consistency. If protest is noble, it must be noble across viewpoints. If patriotism is suspect, then anti-patriotism must also face scrutiny. If tolerance is real, it must extend in every direction. Unity Is Not Oppression The Olympics remain one of the last shared civic rituals in American life. For a brief moment, politically partisan divisions recede. Americans who disagree on policy, culture, and ideology still unite in support of their country’s athletes. The American flag is not a partisan emblem. The national anthem is not a political slogan. The Olympic uniform is not an ideological statement. Criticism of public policy is a healthy part of democracy. But contempt for the nation itself, broadcast globally while standing under its banner, undermines the civic cohesion that pluralism depends upon. We believe in accountability, fairness, and equal standards. When institutions amplify narratives that erode national unity while marginalizing those who affirm it — that is not neutrality — it is cultural engineering. A Moment Of Reflection Before The Torch Goes Out The Olympic Games are meant to inspire excellence, unity, and national pride. They are one of the few world stages where Americans, of every background, stand together and cheer for the same flag. That unity is unbelievably fragile these days. Athletes who earn the privilege of representing the United States of America are not required to abandon their convictions. These gifted professional athletes should recognize the gravity of the uniform they wear and the flag that rises behind them. Proud representation of our nation is not just personal achievement, but it is national symbolism as well. As the Olympic closing ceremonies approach this Sunday, there is still time for reflection. There is

Once again, the Grammys proved they are no longer primarily a celebration of music, creativity, or artistic excellence. They are an annual morality play — one in which celebrities lecture Americans about tolerance, compassion, and justice, while practicing none of it themselves. Last night’s broadcast followed a script that has become painfully familiar over the years: applause for radical rhetoric, scorn for law enforcement, and a complete absence of self-reflection. Viewers were told who to hate, what to believe, and which institutions are acceptable targets for profanity, all under the banner of “love” and “inclusion.” Tolerance, As Long As You Think the Same Thing At the Grammys, tolerance does not mean pluralism, it means compliance. Artists are no longer celebrated solely for their hard work, but for their willingness to echo the carefully contrived political slogans. Those who dissent or question otherwise, are treated as moral threats rather than fellow citizens. Diversity is endlessly praised, except when it comes to ideas. This is not inclusion, rather it’s ideological orthodoxy enforced by public applause. Billie Eilish and the Luxury of Cost-Free Radicalism After winning Song of the Year, Billie Eilish used her moment on stage to declare: “No one is illegal on stolen land… we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting… our voices really do matter and the people matter and f* ICE**.”   The crowd erupted. What the crowd did not hear was any acknowledgment of the contradiction embedded in her message. Eilish reportedly owns a $2.3 million equestrian ranch in Glendale, California—land that, for thousands of years prior to Spanish colonization, was inhabited by the Gabrielino-Tongva people. If land ownership itself delegitimizes law and borders, that principle is being applied quite selectively. Celebrities are never asked to surrender their own property, wealth, or security in service of the slogans they demand others live by. This is the defining feature of elite activism: weaponize radical language against the American people with zero personal cost. Bad Bunny, ICE, and the Erasure of the American Audience After winning Best Música Urbana Album, Bad Bunny opened his remarks with: “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out.” The cheers were immediate. Later in the night, the Recording Academy elevated him even further, awarding Album of the Year to “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” making him the first artist to win the Grammys’ top prize for a Spanish-language album. Recognition of talent is not the issue, but the double standard is. At the end of the night, Bad Bunny delivered his acceptance remarks almost entirely in Spanish on an American broadcast, despite this being a U.S.-based awards show aimed primarily at an American audience. This comes even as a separate Latin Grammy Awards, presented by the Latin Recording Academy, has existed since 2000 to celebrate Spanish-language music. More revealing still: Bad Bunny’s most recent “world tour” skipped the United States entirely, reportedly out of fear that ICE might be present at his concerts. Yet American institutions continue to celebrate him, including selecting him to perform at the NFL Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday. In other words: America is too dangerous to tour American law enforcement gets vilified on stage American platforms (The Recording Academy’s Grammy Awards and the NFL’s Super Bowl)  still provide the biggest stages imaginable This is selective dependence on the very country being targeted and condemned. Hypocrisy as a Feature, Not a Bug The same celebrities who condemn “hate” are often the first to engage in it… so long as the target is politically acceptable. Mocking religious beliefs? Applauded.Demonizing half the country? Standing ovation.Dehumanizing parents, conservatives, or skeptics? Get labeled “brave” and get awarded with a Grammy. Meanwhile, calls for civility only emerge when the criticism runs the other direction. And as you know by now, that’s not moral clarity… it’s selective outrage. Throughout the Grammy Awards, attacks on ICE were not framed as policy disagreements and not one single celebrity other than Jelly Roll was willing to use their acceptance speech time to turn down the divisive temperature across our country or give all the glory to God. ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, exists to enforce federal law, including the removal of individuals who are in the country illegally and often after committing additional crimes. Deportation does not automatically preclude lawful reentry in the future, yet the agency is treated as inherently evil by celebrities who live far removed from communities that reel from the consequences of unchecked illegal immigration every day. This alone is selective outrage dressed up as virtue. SZA, Faith, and the Need for Facts After winning Record of the Year alongside Kendrick Lamar for “Luther,” SZA gave a thoughtful, mostly unifying speech. One line, however, deserves slight correction: “We are not governed by the government; we’re governed by God.” As people of faith, many Americans understand the sentiment. But factually—and constitutionally—Americans are governed by civil authority. Faith informs conscience; it does not replace the rule of law. Correcting the record is not an attack. It is accountability—something the Grammys demand of ordinary Americans but rarely apply to their own speakers. Kehlani and the Applause Line Kehlani won her first Grammy last night and largely followed the same script that played out repeatedly throughout the night: “Together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak out against all the injustice going on in the world right now… I’m going to leave it at that and say, f* ICE**.” No specifics. No nuance. No acknowledgment of complexity. Just profanity met with applause. This is not courageous speech. It is chanting, which had been rewarded consistently over the course of the 3 hour Award Show program precisely because it requires no explanation and no responsibility. Activism Without Consequences Hollywood activism is always loud and always “safe.” The Grammys platform radical rhetoric with zero cost to the speakers, while working-class Americans absorb the consequences of policies these same elites cheer from the stage. There’s no accountability, no self-reflection, and no willingness

Florida has become just the second state in the nation to break the monopoly the American Bar Association (ABA) has long held over legal education and professional credentialing. The move marks a significant step toward restoring competition, viewpoint neutrality, and accountability in a profession that depends on public trust. It also confirms what we have been warning about for awhile: the ABA has drifted far from its role as a professional trade association and instead positioned itself as a national ideological regulator. That is precisely why the ABA received one of our 2025 Worst of the Woke Awards. A Trade Group Turned Ideological Gatekeeper For decades, the ABA has exercised extraordinary power by controlling law-school accreditation, a gate that determines who may sit for bar exams, practice law, and advance professionally. In theory, accreditation should focus on competence, ethics, and access to justice. In practice, the ABA has used that authority to enforce ideological conformity. In recent years, the organization has continued conditioning accreditation and professional standing on mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements, including identity-based training, reporting mandates, and policy benchmarks unrelated to legal skill or ethical conduct. Law schools and attorneys who question or resist these frameworks face real consequences from accreditation risk to reputational damage. This is not tolerance, it’s coercion. By embedding political ideology into credentialing, the ABA has transformed “inclusion” into a loyalty test, chilling open debate in a field that should prize viewpoint neutrality and equal treatment under the law. Why the ABA Earned Our 2025 “Worst of the Woke” Award We awarded the ABA one of our 2025 Worst of the Woke Awards for this longstanding and historic behavior. In early 2025, the ABA’s diversity-focused accreditation requirement—Standard 206— was temporarily suspended under political pressure from President Trump’s executive action and after a direct letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi urging its removal, reflecting concerns that the rule unlawfully conditioned accreditation on diversity metrics rather than competence. After the suspension, the ABA responded by sending letters defending its position and asserting its commitment to access and diversity even as it reviewed the standard’ the organization also pursued legal action against the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to funding cuts, illustrating how deeply it was willing to fight to maintain its ideological approach. When the nation’s most influential legal body substitutes ideology for impartial standards, public confidence in the justice system erodes. Lawyers should be evaluated on their competence and ethics, not their willingness to comply with shifting political doctrines. The ABA’s actions undermine equal justice by privileging ideology over merit and by punishing dissent rather than encouraging rigorous debate. That is not progress; it is institutional capture. Florida Pushed Back Following Texas’ lead, Florida’s decision to loosen the ABA’s grip on legal education represents a meaningful course correction. By opening the door to alternative accreditation pathways and reducing reliance on a single, politically captured authority, Florida is reaffirming a basic principle: no private organization should wield unchecked power over an entire profession, especially one as central to constitutional governance as the law. This reform does not weaken legal standards, however, it strengthens them by restoring competition, accountability, and a focus on core professional values. A Model for Other States Florida’s move should serve as a model for other states willing to question entrenched systems that no longer serve the public interest. Breaking monopolies, especially ideological ones, is not a radical idea or action in the year of 2026. This process is necessary when institutions abandon neutrality and use their authority to impose conformity. The New Tolerance Campaign will continue documenting, writing about, and exposing cases where powerful organizations weaponize credentialing, culture, and compliance to silence dissent and narrow acceptable thought. Florida’s action is proof that reform is possible—and that tolerance can be restored when coercion is confronted.

For years, Hollywood has treated pronouns not as a matter of language, but as an ideological loyalty test. Scripts were rewritten, characters contorted, and entire storylines bent to affirm a worldview that insisted biology was optional and words were infinitely malleable. Viewers were told to suspend disbelief, not for dragons or space travel, but for the denial of biological reality. And then something interesting happened. In Landman, Paramount+ quietly aired a series that includes two unvarnished moments — played straight, without lectures or winks — that collapse the modern pronouns argument under the weight of real life. No speeches. No sermons. No culture-war monologues. Just reality doing what it always does when ideology meets the real world. Reality, Not Rhetoric Unlike the carefully curated worlds where pronoun ideology typically thrives, corporate offices, college campuses, or scripted HR scenarios, Landman is set in an unforgiving environment: West Texas oilfields, where physical labor, danger, and competence determine outcomes. Scene One: Ainsley Meets Paigyn In one of the scenes now circulating online, Ainsley Norris meets her new roommate, Paigyn, who is from Minneapolis and immediately lays out a list of expectations for the shared dorm room. Paigyn uses “they/them” pronouns, objects to Ainsley eating meat in the room or wearing animal products, dislikes music because “they” view the dorm as “their” safe space, and presents as intensely health-conscious—going so far as to oppose the use of an air freshener because it is a “toxic airborne petrochemical that they would be breathing into their lungs.” After outlining these boundaries, Paigyn asks Ainsley what her preferred pronouns are. Ainsley responds plainly: “I think that’s pretty clear.” The exchange then turns to the broader pronouns debate, with Ainsley explaining her confusion: “I’ve always been curious why they/them, because there is just one of you, and those are plural pronouns. I just never understood the hoopla of pronouns. My name is Ainsley and I just can’t really come up with a reason why you would address me in third person in a conversation that I’m a part of. So if you do, I’m probably not there, so I wouldn’t even really know what pronouns you are using anyways—so why does it matter?” Scene Two: Ainsley with the College Counselor Following her interaction with Paigyn, Ainsley visits her college counselor to explain why their personalities aren’t meshing and why the living arrangement may not be workable. Rather than approaching the situation neutrally, the counselor quickly sides with Paigyn, challenging Ainsley on whether she believes a dorm room should function as a “safe space.” When Ainsley raises her concern about pronouns, arguing that their use is not proper according to the English language, the counselor responds dismissively: “Here we go… I’m just preparing myself to be offended.” The counselor then shuts down the discussion entirely, stating: “Ainsley, I am not going to argue the evolving nature [of] pronoun usage with you. ‘They’ would prefer you use the ‘they/them’ pronoun. Why is that an issue for you?” Why These Scenes Matter The modern pronouns movement depends on artificial environments, places where consequences are muted, physical differences are ignored, and dissent is socially or professionally punished. Remove those conditions, and the entire framework collapses. Landman doesn’t play along. It shows what happens when people work dangerous jobs, face real risks, and live in environments where truth is not a social construct. In those moments, the pronouns framework doesn’t just feel wrong, it is completely irrelevant. Why This Matters for Hollywood Hollywood’s cultural power has always rested on storytelling. For the last decade, much of that storytelling has been hijacked by ideological activism, often at the expense of coherence, realism, and audience trust. Viewers noticed and ratings followed. Landman signals something different: a return to story first, truth before trend, and character over catechism. This isn’t about cruelty or exclusion. It’s about clarity: Biological reality isn’t bigotry; it’s the baseline for explaining the world. Equal opportunity doesn’t mean pretending differences don’t exist; it means fairness within reality, not fantasy. Tolerance doesn’t require enforced speech or compelled belief. Is ‘Wokeism’ Losing Its Grip on Hollywood? One show doesn’t end an era, but cultural shifts always begin with cracks. When a mainstream series stops bending the knee to ideological demands and starts trusting audiences again, the spell breaks. Studios are learning what the public has known for years: People don’t want to be politically lectured. Viewers want story lines that make sense. Enjoyers want characters who feel human. The vast majority of Americans want reality, not reeducation. Landman doesn’t market itself as anti-woke because it doesn’t need to. By simply telling a grounded story rooted in the real world, it exposes how fragile the pronouns orthodoxy actually is. The New Tolerance Standard True tolerance doesn’t require everyone to repeat the same script. It allows disagreement, it respects reality and it trusts people to see the world as it is, not as activists insist it must be. If Hollywood is finally rediscovering that lesson — one scene at a time — that’s not a culture-war victory. It’s a cultural course correction and it’s long overdue!