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The Death of Free Speech
Townhall.com ^ | November 25, 2015 | Ben Shapiro

Posted on 11/25/2015 8:09:58 AM PST by Kaslin

Four in 10 young Americans have no idea what America is.

That's the takeaway from a new Pew Research poll showing that 40 percent of Americans aged 18-34 say that the government should be able to prevent people from making "statements that are offensive to minority groups." This same group of young people has granted broad awareness to the culture of "microaggression" -- unintended slights taken as grave insults by their victims; they've also called for "trigger warnings," alerts that certain communications may dredge up unpleasant past memories or ideas. With such ghoulish cruelties haunting the most privileged generation in human history, naturally we'd want to toss out the bedrock of Western civilization: The right to debate, to express unpopular opinions. We wouldn't want to offend.

Unless, of course, we do.

There are those of us who find guns in our face far more offensive than the occasional taunt. We don't like the notion that your disapproval of an opinion gives you the right to call the men with the guns; we find that perspective tyrannical and threatening. We're not interested in your subjective feelings-world, in which you claim that innocuous statements somehow harm you in material ways. We don't believe that self-appointed victim status grants you the ability to use force. We think you ought to develop a thicker skin -- the sort of skin necessary to enjoy freedom. If your political agoraphobia prevents you from engaging in the arguments that characterize free countries, that doesn't mean you should lock us all away in our "safe spaces." Those "safe spaces" are called jail cells, and the only people who want to establish them are jackbooted fascists masquerading as hippy-dippy caring experts.

If all of this seems relatively basic, that's because it is. But because America forgot to teach her children those basics, they will be torn out by the root. The American university system has become Ground Zero for the anti-free speech movement. That's because young people always look for a cause for which to fight, an oppressive force to crush. Young people aren't looking for comfort; as George Orwell wrote in 1940 regarding the appeal of the Nazis, "Nearly all western thought since the last war, certainly all 'progressive' thought, has assumed tacitly that human beings desire nothing beyond ease, security and avoidance of pain. In such a view of life there is no room, for instance, for patriotism and the military virtues. Hitler, because in his own joyless mind he feels it with exceptional strength, knows that human beings don't only want comfort, safety, short working-hours, hygiene, birth-control and, in general, common sense; they also, at least intermittently, want struggle and self-sacrifice, not to mention drums, flags and loyalty-parades."

How can today's young people enjoy such struggle?

Since America is the freest country in the history of humanity, the only oppression to be found is self-oppression -- and the only way to free people from that is to shackle everyone else. The old rule of politics stated that your right to wave your fist ends with my nose; the leftist perspective is that your right to wave your fist ends with that waving fist generating feelings of unease. So stop waving it. Anywhere.

The real danger here is that the would-be oppressors will win. They already are on university campuses, where those labeled holders of "white privilege" can now be fired or silenced based on the color of their skin. If Americans don't fight back against the free speech opponents, this battle will get ugly: Once one side utilizes actual aggression, it's only a matter of time until battle truly begins.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: collegesandunis; freespeech; politicalcorrectness

1 posted on 11/25/2015 8:09:58 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Democrats couldn’t do it in Congress so they’ll try it this way now


2 posted on 11/25/2015 8:12:58 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: Kaslin

Political correctness has eliminated “free speech.”


3 posted on 11/25/2015 8:16:38 AM PST by I want the USA back (Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country)
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To: Kaslin

I worked for a Fortune 500 company that made its employees sign what they called an “ethics” statement. In it the employee agreed, among other things, never to tell a joke, not to hold personal discussions at work, and not to proselytize or discuss religion. The list was many pages long. You could see it was a combination of diversity and inclusion as it dictated how to handle race.

It wasn’t the most unpleasant place I ever worked, but it was the coldest and most sterile. And, before you say go work someplace else, every big defense company I know about has some version of this going on.


4 posted on 11/25/2015 8:24:57 AM PST by Gen.Blather
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To: Kaslin

I’m 25 and I’m teaching my children that liberty is the most important thing they’ll ever have. That includes freedom of speech and as they get older I intend to teach them that freedom and liberty are worth fighting for.

And by ‘fighting’ I mean fighting!


5 posted on 11/25/2015 8:27:34 AM PST by MeganC (The Republic of The United States of America: 7/4/1776 to 6/26/2015 R.I.P.)
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To: Kaslin

4 in 10 Young Americans aren’t Americans, so why would they have any idea what the country is supposed to be like?

What did we expect to get when we allow tens of millions from third world thugocracies to simply walk in and set up camp here?


6 posted on 11/25/2015 8:28:52 AM PST by Regulator
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To: Kaslin

Why do these young darlings even speak English? After all it is the language of the country that oppressed almost a quarter of the world during the height of the British Empire.


7 posted on 11/25/2015 8:35:28 AM PST by Fair Paul
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To: Gen.Blather

Although it isn’t there yet, it does remind me of Winston’s job environment at the Ministry of Truth. It is heading that direction. If they ever reach a point of organizing a morning break for the Two Minutes Hate, then 1984 will be a reality. People need to wake up.


8 posted on 11/25/2015 8:36:01 AM PST by mom of young patriots
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To: Gen.Blather

When a company does that, it is usually followed by the company minions telling you about their beliefs.

I worked at a company that did this and they proselytized to us all the time about Diversity, Sexual Harassment, any hot topic issue that came along. But it didn’t work so well for them. When you are preaching Diversity, you cannot stop black people from sharing their Christian faith in emails and at work. When you preach against Sexual Harassment, women have to stop talking about committing spousal abuse(women do this all the time).

Then Clinton got elected and Sexual Harassment training went out the window.


9 posted on 11/25/2015 8:42:54 AM PST by AppyPappy (If you really want to irritate someone, point out something obvious they are trying hard to ignore.)
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To: MeganC

Same here. Hence my screen name. It is a daily battle to keep the wolves of PC, oppression, coercive persuasion (ie brainwashing) and the homosexual agenda at bay. It is a tough job, but I am more than ready to do it because my kids’ future lies in the balance.


10 posted on 11/25/2015 8:45:08 AM PST by mom of young patriots
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To: mom of young patriots

Stay STRONG!


11 posted on 11/25/2015 9:03:11 AM PST by midlander
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To: Regulator

“What did we expect to get when we allow tens of millions from third world thugocracies to simply walk in and set up camp here?”

Just what we now have.


12 posted on 11/25/2015 12:24:45 PM PST by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) since Nov 2014 (GOPe is that easy to read)
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To: Kaslin

I SHALL speak as i have BEEN speaking for the 63 years i’ve been alive.

Any pussified nobody has not the guts nor the stamina to make me stop, and if they attempt to, ‘I can back it up, pardner’.

Were it to come down to, and i sincerly hope not, me to correct the error of the progenitor of the weasel-mouther to, um, wear protection, thereby this weasel-mouther would not be here, i have no qualms, if it involves my protecting my right to speak at all, or the resultant action of that weasel-mouther to induce me to be quiet.


13 posted on 11/25/2015 12:27:21 PM PST by Terry L Smith
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