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Book Review: The Canceling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott

Reading The Cancelling of the American Mind was an experience that genuinely challenged me and deepened my understanding of today’s cultural climate. The book explores cancel culture and how it’s transformed public discourse, especially in education, science, and media. What makes it powerful is that it’s co-written by two authors from different sides of the political spectrum. That balance is crucial—it’s not a one-sided political rant but a thoughtful, well-researched look at how ideological conformity harms our ability to talk, learn, and even disagree.

One section that stood out the most for me was the chapter on science and medicine. These fields should be grounded in objectivity, data, and care, but the book shows how they’ve been increasingly shaped by fear and ideological pressure. The JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) incident was shocking: the editor-in-chief resigned not for something he said, but because of a podcast someone else hosted, where the mere suggestion that structural racism needed deeper discussion was met with massive backlash. That’s wild. If people in medicine resign over offence taken from content they weren’t even involved in, what kind of precedent are we setting? Medicine should be about helping people, not playing ideological defence. Objectivity in science can’t be sacrificed to avoid offending someone’s sensibilities—it’s too important for that.

Universities are another area where this culture of ideological conformity is painfully obvious. I’ve experienced it firsthand in my English and arts courses. There’s a clear expectation to approach topics from the “right” viewpoint, and any respectful disagreement feels risky. In contrast, my science classes haven’t had the same problem—there’s more openness to explore ideas and stick to facts. But the pressure to conform in the arts is real. Discussion becomes less about learning and more about signalling moral alignment. That’s not education. That’s a controlled conversation.

This book also helped me articulate thoughts I’ve struggled to express in conversations with others. I had a discussion with someone who is strongly anti-Trump, which is fair enough, but they refused to acknowledge any flaws in the views or tactics on their own political side. I'm not American, so I don't vote there, and I really don't get a say, but this book helped me explain how the left, in many cases, has gone too far in vilifying anyone who doesn’t align with their narrative, and it does so without dismissing real problems or demonizing one side.

Politics is relatively new territory for me. I never used to pay much attention to it, but that’s changed in the past few years, especially after October 7th, 2023. Since then, I’ve found myself following news and politics more closely, particularly in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. These are places where free speech, safety, and cultural shifts really matter, and where cancel culture can have real consequences on how we live and think. I’ve grown to care a lot about how these systems work and how they can improve.

What I appreciate most about The Cancelling of the American Mind is that it offers a strong foundation for those who are trying to navigate all this noise with an open mind. It doesn’t claim to have every answer, but it makes a compelling case for why we need to rebuild a culture of dialogue, disagreement, and intellectual humility. The book’s solutions might be idealistic and hard to implement, but that doesn’t make them any less necessary.

This is a book I would recommend to anyone, especially those who think they already have it all figured out. It challenges assumptions across the political spectrum and reminds us that people are more than their tweets, missteps, or party affiliations. It’s a push toward deeper thinking and better conversations. And in a time where everyone’s being pushed to pick a side, that’s exactly what we need more of.

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