The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

Your child, age 10, wants to ride a bike to the movie theatre to meet with friends and watch a film. All his/her friends ride to and from school and town, but you have heard reports of child abductions elsewhere in the country, and you are concerned for your child’s safety in traffic. Should you permit him/her to ride her bike alone into town? Why or why not?

If an idea causes someone to feel pain or anguish, should that idea be deemed as dangerous as a physical assault? Explain your viewpoint.

Some college students insist that guest speakers ought to be forbidden from campus if their expressed views are antithetical to those of the students, and some administrators have agreed. Does this policy enhance or harm the processes of higher education? Defend your answer.