Abstract
I. Introduction In his speech, "Culture, Politics and McCarthyism: A Retrospective from the Trenches," Irving Louis Horowitz gives a clarion call that we as intellectuals of the world and as university professors must unite to protect our interests. This essay explores the reasons why university professors fail to unite to protect our interest in academic freedom and makes a number of proposals for educational programs to buttress academic freedom. Zealots, whether from the Right, the Left, religion and the church, the government, boards of trustees, administrators, students, or faculty colleagues, will continue to assault heretical thought and speech. This seems inevitable. It is critical that the faculty foster and defend competent voices of dissent during a period of zealotry because it is upon such dissent, however unpopular, that the advancement of our knowledge depends. 1 "It is not sufficient," Professor Paul Walters said, "to support the rights of those who share our political and social ideas. We must stand for openness and for the right of all honestly held opinions to be heard." 2 The culture of an institution is largely defined by the faculty. Where there is a faculty culture that honors academic freedom's correlative duty that the faculty as a collegial body publicly defend its members against zealotry, then attacks on thought and speech will be moderated, and academic freedom exists. Faculties often poorly defend academic freedom of alleged heretics during a period of zealotry. During each wave of zealotry, ...