Revelations that famed British author Roald Dahl’s beloved children's novels have been rewritten to reflect secular-progressive dogma have drawn condemnation from a diverse wave of British notables , from author Salman Rushdie to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak . This is cause for celebration: Even in these strange times, sanity remains capable of standing its ground.

But sadly, occasions of cultural leftist insanity go unchallenged more often than not. There is every reason to believe the Kool-Aid hair brigade is winning the war. Above all, it has time on its side. Its troops are only now coming of age and asserting themselves within government and industry. The DEI 101 students of yesterday are today’s clipboard-carrying commissars, and they are keeping a diligent tally of our transgressions.

That’s why it came as no surprise to learn that Inclusive Minds, the company hired by Puffin Publishers to manipulate and mangle Dahl's oeuvre, only employs consultants under the age of 30. Inclusive Minds, which, incredibly, is not an invention of the Babylon Bee, describes itself as a “collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.” Its “sensitivity readers” and “inclusion ambassadors” work diligently to remove noninclusive language and rewrite entire sections of great novels.

The most striking aspect of the whole ordeal, and indeed even of the existence of a company such as Inclusive Minds, is the abounding narcissism inherent in this new breed of cultural censor. What level of self-regard must one possess to feel qualified to rewrite classic novels? Would these same “sensitivity readers'' also consider themselves qualified to retouch the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in order to render it less patriarchal? And if not, what then makes them feel qualified to rewrite entire sections of The BFG?

And for that matter, what sort of person devotes his or her life to this sort of work? Of all the causes a young and educated person might choose to champion, the gender identity of Oompa Loompas is a peculiar choice. Have we really become this frivolous?

The cultural neo-Maoists would gladly dismantle the whole of Western art if they possessed the requisite talent, which they certainly don’t. Indeed, they are only limited by their own mediocrity — and trespass laws. Children’s literature provides an ideal target because it’s the only end of the intellectual pool in which they feel they can touch their toes. It also helps that children’s literature plays a significant role in conditioning the minds of the youth. If it involves brainwashing, this crowd will be into it.

Just last week, it was reported that another giant of children’s literature, R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame, which is the second highest-selling series of all time behind Harry Potter, had his work rewritten for sensitivity concerns without his knowledge. Apparently, our postmodern moral betters feel entitled to rework classic literature without even asking permission from the author, let alone the author’s estate.

But again, none of this is surprising. After all, these are the very same “folx” who’ve spent the last decade lecturing us about what’s “problematic” and what isn’t. They carry themselves as if all of history were but a prelude to the arrival of their blessed wisdom.

But as highly as they regard themselves is as lowly as they regard the rest of us. In their eyes, we are such intellectual and moral toddlers that we can’t be trusted to cope with the word “fat” as a descriptor for Augustus Gloop. Their entire worldview is predicated on mass infantilization. So they swap out words and rewrite sections of novels in order to remove evidence of pre-woke morality because, in their view, we can’t handle an iota of moral complexity. They think we’re dumb and frail, or at least they hope we are — because otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance with this tripe.

If nothing else, such incidents prove that efforts to improve the self-esteem of our students are working splendidly. It is, perhaps, the only feather in the cap of modern education . But we could stand to take our foot off this particular pedal in the coming years. It's obvious this generation feels good enough about itself already.

Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner and the founder of Crush the College Essay. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, the Catholic Thing, the National Catholic Register, and the American Spectator.