At Google and in academia, liberal pieties clash

Liberal pieties, because they lack a limiting principle, inevitably grow large enough that they crash into other liberal pieties. Just this month, the burgeoning pieties have collided in two liberal habitats, Google and academia.

An overheated and misleading New York Times story (sadly a norm in the Trump era) claimed the administration "wants to investigate colleges for discriminating against white applicants," as the paper's Twitter feed put it.

This overblown report raised questions about why and how the administration would investigate colleges for discriminating against whites? The answer was that the Department of Justice, under federal law, may launch investigations into bias or discrimination and sue institutions to end violations.

Affirmative action in college admissions, which is both marginally legal and marginally unconstitutional, is perfect example of a good liberal intention growing unchecked until it becomes a monster.

Diversity is worthwhile for various reasons. In an academic setting, a student's background informs his or her arguments and understanding of a subject. Colleges may find it valuable to search extra hard for applicants from underrepresented populations or to unearth qualified students from communities that may not be oriented toward applying to college.