Dan Flynn

In analyzing the cultural and social state of America today, Martin L. Gross doesn’t pull any punches.In The End of Sanity, Gross, unlike other pundits and cultural critics, is careful not to fall into the trap of cynicism by simply complaining about the outstanding rips within the American fabric. Instead, he examines the roots of the problem, specifically the "New Establishment," comprised of radical liberals suffering an emotional hangover from the 1960s.

Gross plows through a number of aspects of society that have led to our "national cultural instability." He sees the traditional, Judeo-Christian roots of this country being pulled up by foot soldiers of the New Establishment. Among his gripes include the integration of the sexes in military units, affirmative action, multiculturalism, biased immigration processes that favor non-Europeans, a liberal court system, and the wave of exaggerated or bogus sexual harassment charges.

But the strongest aspect of The End of Sanity is Gross’ analysis of the deteriorating state of higher education in America today. He has linked the problems on the campus to a larger phenomenon: "Much of this nonsense stems from the increasing separation of college student bodies into ‘group identities,’ whether African-American, Hispanic, Native American, or whatever, a trend that has reached the caricature stage."

The Politically Correct trends include speech codes on campus, like the University of Arizona’s Diversity Action Plan. The plan blocks students from making negative comments involving "color, ethnicity, gender, religion, and national origin," or speaking disparagingly about "physical and mental ability, Vietnam-era veteran status, socioeconomic background, and individual style."

"Victim groups" rule in other areas of the university. At Georgetown University, a student can major in English literature without ever having read Hamlet or Macbeth, or any of Shakespeare’s works, because the timeless playwright has been deemed insensitive (a common PC buzz word) to women and minorities. According to a study cited by Gross, of 67 leading universities, only 23 required English majors to take even a single course in Shakespeare. Gross failed to note, however, that when Shakespeare’s writings are actually being used as reading material in a class, the works are often being critiqued with severely warped modern-day deconstructionist ideas. At Dartmouth, in the course "Shakespeare and Gender," students "begin by defining the varieties of power inscribed in Shakespeare’s plays." They question whether his language is "gender-inflicted," and determine how "power is exerted and controlled in sexual relationships."

History has been tainted too. The PC form of historical revisionism strategically hones in on America’s past weaknesses and mistakes, all the while ignoring her greatness. UCLA academics were given a $2 million federal grant from the Department of Education to write the National History Standards. In order to stress the country’s racism, the KKK was mentioned 17 times, while Samuel Adams, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers were omitted completely. The American Revolution was compared to the uprisings in China and Cuba, and even the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

Besides the fact that course readings and the "truths" included in some of the readings are changing, standards for college students in general have taken a nosedive. At Harvard the curriculum has been so weakened and grade inflation has taken such a hold, that 84 percent of a recent class graduated with honors. Two other Ivy League colleges—Yale and Brown—no longer have a core curriculum, meaning that there are no courses required to be taken at the university. At Brown, English students can enroll in the academically barren "Films of Clint Eastwood" class, where they will study the "major films of the actor/director and their possible relevance to the alleged crises of masculinity performances in U.S. and other cultures." Yale Sociology students can take "Sexual Diversity and Social Change," a survey course "examining the notion that sexuality is socially constructed, constrained, and contested." In one sense, it is fortunate that these Ivy League students do not have any required courses. Gross points out that at all 16 campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY), the only universal requirement is that students take "diversity" classes. SUNY-Old Westbury requires a course in "ideological institutions such as racism and sexism."

In Gross’ words: "What we’re producing in college today are graduates with heads full of idiosyncratic, isolated bits of knowledge. There is no central organization of thought, no plan, no basics, no foundation. This gravely weakens their ability to think constructively and to distinguish truth from falsehood, a common failing of those influenced by the New Establishment."

But the New Establishment’s influence spreads beyond the doors of the classroom to the rest of the campus, Gross argues. After working for 30 years to integrate America at all levels of society—notably academia—the reverse is occurring on many American campuses. At Cornell, many Hispanic, black, and Native American students live in separate housing. When the President of the school (who apparently realized that living next door to different kinds of people is a valuable freshmen and civic experience) tried to prohibit students from living in the specialized residence areas until sophomore year, he was met with a mass student protest and hunger strike. The 1960s may have permanently instilled in the American campus a spirit of protest and counter-cultural fervor. Today, however, the country is at peace, and equality of opportunity for all has finally been achieved. So students find preposterous "causes," which fall on friendly ears in faculty lounges and administration buildings. The Cornell president, in an exemplification of the power of PC, ultimately backed down.

Gross sees bilingual education, another travesty in the name of "multiculturalism," as the result of "contemporary New Establishment social movements." Evidence shows that it is easy for children to absorb a new language, and so the longer students stay imprisoned in the bilingual programs learning mathematics and history in their native languages, the harder it will be for them to finally learn English. For example, immigrant children who came to Ellis Island from the 1880s to the 1950s were immersed into public school education where English was spoken exclusively. They had few problems learning the language. But in the New York City of the 1990s, children who don’t speak Spanish, but whose surnames sound Hispanic, have been placed in bilingual classes automatically.

The situation higher education finds itself in now, Gross explains, is a result of years of the New Establishment’s advocacy of "diversity" and "multiculturalism," instead of "assimilation" and "success." They stressed busing, but at the same time lowered academic standards in the schools. They spent more time teaching America to be shameful of slavery, but the ancestors of many Americans were not even here 150 years ago. These techniques led to cries of racism and sexism thrown about as excuses for poor performance. Ultimately this mushroomed into the phenomenon known as PC.

Gross is prudent in his research, and draws compelling conclusions about the New Establishment’s role not only in education, but in all aspects of society. After identifying each problem facing American culture in The End of Sanity, Gross makes a call-to-arms to all sensible Americans: "The challenge is also there for the average citizen. It is to fight, with words and actions, to protect our academic system, our youth, and our general culture from the ravages of the New Establishment and its Orwellian creation, political correctness."