FIRE to visit campuses in Texas.

Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a gentleman I've come to know and respect. He will be speaking at college campuses throughout Texas on the topic of "Unlearning Liberty."

The interesting thing about FIRE is they've been called "right-wing" by activists on the left because many (though, not all) of this law firm's clients end up being right-leaning libertarians and conservatives. But a moment's research into FIRE's background will tell a different story.

Both Greg and FIRE's Co-Founder, Harvey Silvergate, have worked closely within the ranks of the ACLU, another law firm which conservatives legitimately hold suspect for its avowedly pro-communist roots in its early days. Contemporary observers will more likely know the ACLU for its liberal advocacy on social matters, pornography, and on obscene speech and broadcasting.

Both Harvey and Greg to this day are staunch believers in free speech... to a point traditional conservatives will probably say is to a fault. But unlike the rest of the ACLU, their commitment has led them to fight against left wing oppression too often seen on college campuses nationwide. This is what Hayekian "liberalism" looks like when applied consistently: not just to gays and pornographers, but to beleaguered conservative students on campuses dominated by political correctness; each end up benefiting from FIRE's defense.

This, of course, comes as a welcome relief to students facing unjust punishment from left wing faculty and administrators, but what will this mean for students attending private Baptist institutions, such as Baylor University? My understanding, as Greg intones in the Q&A portion of the linked lecture, is that the first amendment in its fullest expression exists so that private institutions like Baylor can not only exist, but thrive.

That's what students will find out this November 5th. Conservatives may not come to fully agree with liberalism, as construed by 60's style politics; but the kind of liberalism FIRE promotes is one which merits the conservative's careful contemplation.

UPDATE: FIRE maintains a handy database which profiles each university based on their policies regarding speech restrictions. Here is FIRE's dossier on Baylor University.