And this extends to the academic intelligentsia so often found in many university environments...although they don't have any real legislative power, they do have elitist power when it comes to shaping higher education.

This, of course, doesn't mean we should drop multiculturalism and critical thinking from universities. Quite the opposite, in fact. The problem with the self-appointed elite -- which sounds like the original point you were making -- is that they frequently strive to set the ideological narrative based on their own personal biases. They don't WANT critical thinking...they want monolithic thinking.