Fear is our true enemy. And it won't do to tell people not to be afraid. Even researching controversial ideas can lead to sharp social disapproval or worse. Same for questioning popular ideas. Sure, no one is risking life or limb, but social exclusion is not a trivial cost. I speak from experience.

Academics like me—people who rile with “dangerous” research and teaching—we don’t get many awards. The Courage Award I received from Heterodox Academy (HxA) on June 6 was the first award of my 35-year academic career. Both the name of the commendation and the group that granted it make it as desirable an honor as I can imagine.

At HxA’s conference, I relaxed in ways I cannot where I work. The meeting rooms were full of courageous scholars, people who get that unpopular ideas are often dismissed for emotional rather than empirical reasons. At work, these intellectuals are likely to be described as “outspoken” or “difficult” and, of course, “sexist,” “racist,” “transphobic.” We shared stories about what we have escaped from, albeit all too briefly.

As it turned out, the day I received my award was the 80th anniversary of D-Day. My remarks at the ceremony included the obvious fact that nothing I’ve done in my academic career required the bravery shown by the 150,000 troops who stormed Normandy.

Differences in the situations of the Allied troops and contemporary academics partly explain the greater courage shown by the former. The Allies faced an evil, totalitarian enemy trying to kill them. Soldiers were united in their desire to defeat this enemy. Any hesitation to join the battle would be seen as cowardice and likely court-martialed.

In academia, the stakes are much lower. No one is trying to kill anyone in defense of identity politics or critical theories. Administrators don’t punish anyone for cowardly actions. (They actually seem to prefer those.) Academics are united on little. But maybe that disunity could become an intentional strength. Help us fear less.

Article Image by Uehara Konen (used under license from Shutterstock.com).