The Left Doesn't Get Free Speech
Free speech has been at the forefront of political debate for the past few weeks with the recent debacles at Berkeley surrounding Ann Coulter and Antifa. Refreshingly, many from the Right and Left have come together amid the chaos at the supposed birthplace of free speech, condemning the actions of the school, the mayor, and the chief of police.
Bill Maher noted that Berkeley has become a “cradle for f***ing crybabies,” and What About Bob? actor Richard Dreyfuss insisted on Tucker Carlson Tonight that campuses need to be “a battlefield of ideas” with “dissenting opinions.” Even The View’s Whoopi Goldberg chimed in, “Berkeley, you made a mistake, man.”
This is wonderful, right? Leftists defending the Constitution and diversity of thought?
Well, kind of. It would be better if more on the Left actually understood what freedom of speech entails and exactly what threatens it.
Hasan Minhaj fired at everything in sight at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 29. A good chunk was funny, especially watching the crowd’s horrified reaction as Minhaj dared insult her highness Hillary Clinton and the gods of MSNBC, but his final thoughts included a mixed bag of claims on free speech:
“Only in America can a first-generation, Indian-American Muslim kid get on this stage and make fun of the president.”
Spot on. Go free speech. ‘Murika.
But this is where the trouble starts:
“But the president didn’t show up. Because Donald Trump doesn’t care about free speech. … And I’m proud that all of us are here tonight to defend that right, even if the man in the White House never would.”
Donald Trump has said a lot of silly things and attacked a lot of people and organizations since he became president, but at what point has he infringed on free speech?
Minhaj defends Trump’s right to tweet based on free speech but simultaneously claims Trump’s tweets as evidence that Trump disregards free speech. What? Trump also apparently doesn’t care about freedom because he blew off a fancy press dinner. Say what you will about tradition or whether he should have gone—his absence was in no way an obstruction of the freedom of the press or any indication of his feelings toward free speech.
I’m told that Trump violates free speech because he’s an authority figure strong-arming the press. I beg you for one example. And if you say calling CNN “fake news” or Buzzfeed a “steaming pile of garbage,” please dry your tears. The president, like you, can insult anyone he wants for any reason. It still doesn’t take away their free speech. There are worse things than being on Donald Trump’s bad side.
You can start claiming that Trump is hindering free speech the moment he pushes a law that bars a person’s right to dissent. We’ve had that in the United States—the Alien and Sedition Acts—and if you see anything like it, let me know.
You can complain that Trump is blocking the freedom of the press when he advocates for legal restrictions on bad press. He hasn’t done that. CNN is not entitled to attend his press conferences, and he has every right to refuse their presence. If you’re worried about a chilling effect on the press, listen to Dennis Prager: “It will put a chilling effect on being a steaming pile of garbage,” nothing else.
If you’re worried because Trump is partial to one outlet over another, where were you when Obama targeted Fox News for eight years? In both cases, maybe it’s rude. Maybe it’s unethical. Maybe it’s unnecessary and causes more harm than good. But one thing is undeniably true: it’s their right, and it does nothing to violate the freedom of the press. The press is not entitled to have an easy job. It doesn’t dictate Trump’s schedule and availability. Trump has no legal obligation to cater to them. CNN, MSNBC, all of you: you need to grow up and get on with your lives.
Until that moment when Trump pushes fascism into law, if Trump’s biggest offence to free speech is that he insulted some people and didn’t come to your party, please find bigger things to be offended by.
Keep focusing on UC Berkeley, a public university subject to Constitutional law, and its violations of free speech. Maybe focus a little more on Antifa and call it what it is: an ironically named fascist terrorist organization of the Left.
Focus on the fascism of private universities who create a Leftist bubble of thought without violating law. DePaul University is private and had every right to ban Ben Shapiro, but it was still an act of fascism. Brigham Young University can refuse to acknowledge a conservative group because it doesn’t want to give the impression that it supports any particular political ideologies yet continue to sponsor Amnesty International. That’s their right, but it’s still fascism.
Protest a person’s ideas and spark debate. Make them look foolish if you can. But don’t protest for them to be shut down. It’s your right to protest just like it’s their right to speak when invited, but it’s still fascism to insist they be forced into silence.
That’s the beauty of free speech in America: you have the right to be a fascist.
Hasan Minhaj said a lot of ridiculous things I don’t agree with, but I give him major points for some other moments of his speech. Overall, I commend him for his courage in expressing some unpopular opinions before a hostile crowd, and I’m grateful for the efforts of Minhaj, Maher, and others in keeping speech free. We might disagree on what we want to say and how we want to say it, but I won’t back down from defending your right to say it.
Just take some time to clear up your understanding of what free speech actually means and get back to me. We have work to do.