Free Speech is for All of Us
Free speech is hardly exclusively a conservative issue. Here's why.
Photo Source: Glenn Geher
On a rainy day in March of 2017, I was asked to speak at a rally regarding the importance of Free Speech at an event on my home campus, SUNY New Paltz, that was organized by our campus’ newspaper, The Oracle. At the time, I was serving in the position of Chair of our campus President’s Free Speech Task Force. This task force was created in response to various issues that brought the topic of free speech to the forefront of our campus. Of these issues, perhaps the most conspicuous pertained to a disinvitation of a conservative speaker, Cliff Kincaid, that caused all kinds of waves.
Eventually, Mr. Kincaid was re-invited to our campus and did speak at a campus event. But, to be honest, the situation was mired in controversy and was anything but pretty. That said, our task force was central in helping make this event happen which, to our minds, helped us as a community publicly stand for freedom of expression on college campuses at a time when this issue was so hotly contested.
Freedom of speech on college campuses across the nation remains hotly contested to this day.
Freedom of Speech Belongs to All of Us
I have been working full-time in academia going back to 1992 and, from this vantage point, I have, without question, seen some concerning trends regarding freedom of expression. While I identify politically as socialist and progressive (hey, I live in the United States, and I can identify how I choose!), which is reasonably par for academics in general, I have found myself having a hard time accepting prevailing narratives within the University regarding freedom of expression.
To my mind, freedom of expression is a foundational feature of any liberal academic experience. As such, you can imagine how concerned I was when a potential speaker was dis-invited from a speaking engagement due to his expressed political views. To my mind, a public institution should, nearly by definition, be open to a broad array of speakers, thinkers, and guests—so long as communications do not include clear-and-present danger.
In 2016, when I agreed to chair our campus’ Free Speech Task Force, I fully expected some people raise an eyebrow. By that point, the concept of free speech had already been sort of framed within the prevailing narrative at universities as something of a conservative stance. This framing, to the best of my understanding, was rooted in the idea that people from privileged backgrounds are more able to express themselves freely while those who are under-privileged are less able to express themselves freely—thus corresponding to an injustice that needs to be rectified.
To be honest, I don’t fully disagree with that sentiment and as an egalitarianist, I believe that breaking down social inequalities of all kinds needs to be a primary goal for all of us.
This said, squelching the voices of those with whom one disagrees is hardly, as I see it, an appropriate avenue toward advancing social equality.
So when I was handed the microphone to talk at that Free Speech event on campus on that rainy March day in 2017 (video here), I did exactly what one should do at an event regarding free speech on a public university campus—I spoke my mind.
I think that some in attendance may have been a bit surprised at the content of my speech. It was anything but conservative.
You see, at the time, Donald Trump was in the White House and I was one of millions of Americans who was concerned about how he handled this critically important position. At the time of this event, Mr. Trump was famously taking steps to have members of traditionally liberal media sources (e.g., the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN) disallowed from attending White House Press briefings. To say that these steps were supportive of free speech would be, simply, outrageous.
As I see it, these steps represented clear abuse of power and censorship.
In my speech, I made a point to talk about how critically important the First Amendment is in allowing for events such as the very rally that I was participating in to take place (peaceable assembly to petition the government). I also talked about how the value of free speech has played a major role in allowing the United States to maintain its identity as a democracy. In short, free speech is every bit as American apple pie and baseball.
When it Comes to Free Speech, We Cannot Pick and Choose
The power of free speech as a foundational feature of any nation is found in the blind nature of it. Free speech is not a tool designed to benefit the rich versus the poor. It is not a tool to help facilitate some conservative agendas and undermine the left. Or vice versa. Free speech is not a conditional feature of our culture. It is a basic right that sits at the foundation of any true democracy.
Preserving freedom of speech for all—including those with whom we disagree—is essential in preserving democracy itself.
To say that free speech is good for some people but not for others—or that free speech should only be afforded to some subgroups and that expression of other groups should be limited is, at the end of the day, a slippery slope—to say the least.
Bottom Line
Freedom of expression sits at the heart of any forward-thinking university experience. And it sits at the heart of any government that identifies even slightly as democratic in nature. The second that we start to dictate the parameters of free speech or dictate who is allowed to have freedom of expression and who is not, democracy marches toward its demise.
Want to preserve democracy and preserve the classical American liberal collegiate experience? Let freedom ring.