The Left Has Forgotten That True Liberalism Promotes Free Speech and Abhors Censorship

Free Speech

The federal government strong-armed social media companies to censor conservative thought — even when the statements were true –- while the left and the mainstream media backed it up.

The Supreme Court issued three decisions disliked by the left, and lefties went ballistic, claiming the decisions were undemocratic, thereby justifying the left’s efforts to unravel our democratic system of checks and balances.

A Democratic administration sought to create a Disinformation Governance Board, eerily similar to George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in 1984, and, yet, there was no pushback from fellow Democrats or the media.

Journalist Mike Taibbi made a presentation to a congressional committee, proving that intelligence agencies illegally suppressed free speech of fellow Americans. At the same time, IRS agents were knocking on Mr. Taibbi’s door, seeking to intimidate him. Taibbi’s fellow journalists remained silent.

Where is the ACLU that once stood up for Nazis to have the right to march down Main Street in Skokie, Illinois, so that all of our freedoms would be protected down the road?

The Supreme Court wisely ruled that a private business person should not be forced by the government to express speech to which the business person is opposed and, yet, the NYCLU and Democrats deride the decision affirming free speech. https://www.nyclu.org/en/publications/constitutional-right-discriminate

Of course, a gay consumer should not be denied the ability to buy a computer from a computer salesman. On the other hand, that computer designer should not be forced to create a specific website to which she is morally opposed. It’s the same reason why a Jewish website designer should not be forced to design a neo-Nazi website for a customer. There was a time when officials on both sides of the aisle agreed to this basic premise. No more.

There was a time when we rightly prevented employees within a corporation from discriminating against others based upon their race, creed, or sexual orientation. But now Democrats and the left believe that it is perfectly proper for the corporation, or the state, to compel employees to profess allegiance to a particular political cause with which they disagree.

Compelling people to say things they don’t believe in is a classic violation of the First Amendment. The amendment exists not only to stop the government from preventing you from saying what you want, but also to prevent the government from forcing you to say what you don’t want to say.

The leadership in Nazi Germany and Mao’s China required their subjects to repeat certain lines to the satisfaction of the state. Rebel and you were imprisoned or killed.

We don’t do that in America. That’s what always made us exceptional.

How long will we remain exceptional if the left continues to drift toward this type of censorship and totalitarianism?