🗨️ Pushing To Silence The Right Will Backfire On The Left Because The Left Needs Free Speech More Than The Right Does

This was the thesis of the article The Left Needs Free Speech. The article argues that while the right will claim the left have more power, it’s not true. The left only has power in universities and certain types of educated circles and densely populated areas. The right has significantly more power than the left over the government and K-12 education. In order to fight the battle of ideas where it matters, the left will need free speech. Pushing to create boundaries will only shoot ourselves in the foot.

I found this article to take a very different slant on “cancel culture” than most other articles I’ve read, and also more thought-provoking. The cracking of the argument from the right that the left is taking over rang very true. It described the confusion many liberals feel: most of the population lives in cities. Most white collar workers have gone to college. Many liberals, perhaps, spend much of their adult life in left-leaning spaces. There’s a cognitive dissonance, therefore, on the occasions that K-12 syllabi and government become relevant. But. K-12 education and government have more control over our future.

There was, however, one part of the article that undermined it. This passage:

When you ban a book or shut down a speaker, what you’re really saying is that you need to protect people from ideas you disagree with. You don’t trust people to contextualize, to historicize, to weigh evidence, or even just, like me, satisfy a curiosity, without falling down the rabbit hole of error.

With the Delta variant surging, with QAnon supporters in the Capitol building, etc etc… this is the least persuasive argument possible. Yes, yes, that’s what some are saying. You may not agree with their proposed solution, but can you truly blame them for feeling that way?

Note: it’s worth thinking about [[❔ Why can’t folks contextualize ‘fact’ media anymore]]

Source: The Left Needs Free Speech

[[“If you call for a bookstore not to stock your enemy’s book or rejoice when a problematic classic is taken out of print, your enemy will do the same”]]

Every post on this blog is a work in progress. Phrasing may be less than ideal, ideas may not yet be fully thought through. Thank you for watching me grow.