DEATH OF THE PROFESSIONS: “We assume that those in professional positions have been trained to conduct rigorous inquiry; that they can evaluate evidence, make persuasive arguments based upon provable facts and assert independent judgment. Indeed, our own behavior rests on these expectations, whether we explicitly articulate them or not. . . . But evidence pouring in from across the country calls those assumptions into question. The landscape of professional America should be a stalwart bastion of standards and commitment to truth. Instead, it is increasingly pockmarked by the impact craters of contemporary culture: the erosion of standards, the denial of truth, the capitulation to political pressure, and ideological lockstep borne of fear.”