Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This doctrine was written into the constitution 229 years ago today. This ideal was instituted by our founding fathers due to the tyrannical oppression they faced against the British, they knew the freedom of expression, religion, speech, and assembly was and is an inalienable right, we as a society are fortunate enough to be granted this liberty. The right to be able to say and challenge ideas, the right to assemble for whatever cause you wish to assemble for, the right to publish papers even if not favorable by the majority, and the right to judge the government for incompetence has led to advancements in our society that no humans in history have experienced. The prosperity this right has given to the citizens of America is profound and immeasurable. It is an ideal our founding fathers thought no one logical would wish to abolish. Yet, why is it that in today’s modern day 58% of Americans believe they are unable to say the things they wish to say due to the political climate they live in? (CATO) After hundreds of years of exchanging free thoughts and ideas, American ideals on free speech have vastly shifted. The constraints on what is permissible under the 1st amendment have been tightened, not only in the US but the world. This tolerance for differing ideology the United States once held has been sadly evaporating over the years. This problem is vastly present on college campuses, and it is a problem that is affecting American society and the world at large. College campuses are no longer a place where you are exposed to new thoughts and ideas. Instead, students scream “microaggression” whenever offended and run to their safe spaces when confronted with opposing ideology. The legislation that has led to the culmination of the freest nation in the world is now being attacked by Progressives. Cynics are chipping away at what some will claim to be the most important right in the constitution, and the gap on how the right and left feel on the issue is widening every day. As frightening as it sounds, this freedom may one day be abolished in perpetuity and that can not be ignored. Ergo it is the responsibility of the masses to discuss the damage of what allowing censorship can do to the state of humanity.
The causation of people wishing to tighten free speech can be mostly attributed to a shift in ideology. This shift has mostly been due to the seed of ideas planted from the previous generation into the millennials they birthed. A lot of this censorship comes from the fact that society has softened. One of the largest arguments on restricting free speech is due to people being offended by words and feeling “microagressed”. Now more than ever you see Progressive proponents protesting for regulation on speech in order to limit the offense. They do this by claiming speech to be “hateful” and detrimental to one’s physical health. Kristen Powers in her book The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech puts it best, “Casting disagreement as a physical attack or “hate speech,” or any host of socially taboo behaviors, has become a central tactic in an ever-expanding campaign to silence speech.” These rhetorics are mainly what is causing the problems we see on free speech today. So, how did society get to this point? There use to be this thought in America, the notion that people could achieve whatever they had the skill and will to achieve. But in today’s age, this is no longer the case, the youth are raised being told skill and will no longer matter, that they can be whoever it is they want to be. There’s a large distinction here, the first statement alludes to a society in which you are responsible for your own life and success, but no, now Americans are convinced that they can be whatever it is their heart desires. The problem with that is when they don’t achieve whatever it is they desire they do not think it is due to their own lack of ability, instead they blame American society. They claim the reason why they aren’t achieving is due to institutional racism, sexism, impoverishment, etc, and that society is out to get them. To oppose their claims is unimaginable since to do so would be affecting the mental construct they have of themselves. Being that they were nurtured in such a way that nothing is their fault, it is impossible for them to fathom they are the reason they do not have the success they wish to have. Because this speech is too much for them to handle, they try to squash any ideology that opposes their own and any facts that dispel their view of the world. But the truth is, facts don’t care about your feelings. In the US, 40% think the government should prevent hate speech in public. (CATO) This percentage is on an upward trend. It has gotten to the point where some will claim that hate speech equates violence. Relating speech to physical violence is a dangerous thing since violence is punishable by law and is policeable.
This shift in ideology that started with the youth has followed them into the places they reside, one of these being the universities they attend. This rationale in students trickled up into administration where they now too hold the same beliefs. That anything that prohibits students from feeling safe and achieving in life is too threatening to be allowed. Which leads to the creation of safe spaces and any “micro-aggression” that might threaten self-definition has to be fought. This Ultimately what this means is that people have the right not to be offended. But if this then becomes a right, how is it policed? “ Offense is objective the power to police it is vast and arbitrary” (The Economist) The truth is there is no true way to stop someone from feeling offended since some will always be offended by something. Yet there are those that are unable to live a satisfying life without being agreed with.
Humans have an intrinsic need to want more, and this need for more leads to them to wanting others to accept their thoughts and beliefs. Much often some of our personal ideas get mixed with politics. Being that we live in a multi-party democracy we don’t all develop similar beliefs. This disparity in beliefs can oftentimes cause friction because our political beliefs are part of how we self- identify. And so now for those to be happy with their self-identification they must have others agree with their thoughts. Be it Donald Trump who bans news outlets who disagree with him, transgenders who believe themselves to be the opposite sex and have others use pronouns they decide upon, gun enthusiasts who are not stable enough to hear any judgment about guns and safety regulations, or the lower class thinking they deserve better and that wealth should be redistributed. Political ideology is part of how they self-identify and therefore disagreement with their thoughts becomes an attack on their virtue and mental stability. Powers explains this in her book by stating, “ ‘dialogue’ with the illiberal left is one in which they inform you of the “right” way to think. Resistance to their demands will result in your being stuck with labels like bigot, misogynist, homophobe, racist, sexist, or some other toxic moniker.”
Ben Shapiro in his article “College Students vs. Free Speech” also explains the absurdity in extremity in which college campuses wish to not offend their pupils. He refers to training seminars that the faculty of 9 of the 10 public universities in California had to attend. In which they were informed what was deemed as microaggressive and therefore not permissible to say on campus. Some of these impermissible phrases are “America is the land of opportunity”, “There is only one race, the human race”, and “I believe that the most qualified person should get the job” because to say these things may suggest that those who do not succeed or get the job they wanted to have only themselves to blame, which is now deemed offensive in today’s politically correct climate.