As examples of classroom reading that should be red flagged, the article cited such classic works of literature as Huckleberry Finn (racism), the Merchant of Venice (anti-Semitism) and The Great Gatsby (“a variety of scenes that reference gory, abusive and misogynistic violence.”) A draft guide circulated at Oberlin College in Ohio further suggests flagging anything that smacks of “classism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism [bias against the transgendered], ableism [bias against the handicapped], and other issues of privilege and oppression.” Anything else?

Political correctness first took over America’s institutions of higher learning in the 1970s – then quickly captured the media and entertainment industries. Jobs can be lost, careers destroyed, reputations sullied for merely saying what the P.C. police deem unacceptable. The muzzle that political correctness has become doesn’t just affect those who are voicing sincere religious beliefs either. It has come to hinder what we say about almost everything .