Is Free Speech Over

                                     Is Free Speech Over?

In  1977,  Chicago Nazis applied for a permit to peacefully demonstrate.When it was denied, they contacted the ACLU protesting this violation of their first amendment. rights.  While the ACLU pondered the issue,  the Jewish grapevine spread the story to New York,  home to many Jews who came to the United States after the WWII.  We  their children were Americans who fought against the Vietnam War, relentlessly attacked  politicians, exercised our right to assemble and speak our minds. People got angry of course., Did we care? Not at all. We had our rights — freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech is the linchpin of the American dream. The second amendment, freedom of assembly, religious equality, the right to kick people including government representatives off of our land. mean nothing without the right to speak your mind, to proclaim things that offended even angered others..

An intense debate ensued. How could Nazis be allowed to deliberately inflict pain on the people  they were committed to exterminating? Many of our parents, could not get past their memories, their terror that Nazis, horrors they would never shake. To them, pogroms , destruction of stores torture and worse were inevitable

Why wouldn’t they see it that way? So many times in their long diaspora, Jews were forced to hide their identities,. Severe punishments were meted out against those who refused -  blood libel trials, exclusion from professions, forced migration. From the Con-versos in Spain, witch hunting in the New World, burning of villages, hoodlums egged on by government officials, convictions snd painful deaths, burning of holy books and  forced conversions under penalty of death. Freedom of thought or of speech were alien concepts, inconceivable.

In the 60s there was free speech in Manhattan, Men stood on boxes in Washington Square park, proclaiming their beliefs.  Former immigrants, Union members, people against the war, people who accused those against the law of being anti-Americans, Hippies.. As  long as you stood on the box, you could say anything. People might ignore you, but nobody stopped you. For many, this was entertainment;  people came to play chess, feed the pigeons and enjoy.

There's a phrase that I haven’t heard in quite a while “I don’t agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it” Free speech was more important that disagreements, in the days before hate-speech , in the days before ideas were labeled ‘politically correct. We all had something in common beyond our differences - a belief  and pride in a free country.

The deterioration of our moral fiber since those days is dramatic and tragic. What if the Nazis, or the KKK tried to get s permit for a peaceful march today? Some people reading this are thinking : Why in the world should we allow such revolting genocidal racists to pollute our streets snd upset people, anger them. Why? because principals are more important than emotions, because a diverse nation is based on tolerating differences , sometimes wide  differences. There is no need for laws guaranteeing free speech when people agree, or politely disagree. We need free speech laws for those times when disagreements are strong, when people are tempted to prohibit free speech and address disagreements in more dangerous ways.

The erosion of free speech in the United States began on campuses . Many Universities have rejected the first amendment for some time -decades.   Anti-Semitic, and socialist placards are displayed prominently. Conservative, pro-religious and pro-Christian  signs are taken down. Professors who deviate even slightly from the party line. lost their jobs.

In classes, assignments and especially discussions, students are not taught critical thinking or skills. Attitude change that could be called brainwashing is the goal as in the following examples “Explain why religion is an incorrect view in today”. “Check your privileges. What are they? Explain  how your life is better because if them” . Privilege checking, is a mandatory discussion topic, in which students and faculty pressure the few who hold their ground with ridicule, and  insults.  Unwritten rules on campus reinforce this.

We have few choices in this country at this time, when it comes to University education but there is a sizable population that would be interested.. I’ve met quite a few parents, dismayed when their children become leftists and socialists after a four year stint in a closed community, where only one point of view is expectable, when authority figures discourage reasoning and their goal to instill loyalty to socialism,

Fast forward to today when this way of  life has spread beyond Universities. In the media, only one point of view existso . People who disagree are demonized, labeled as terrorists. It does not stop there. Punishments include violence, ridicule, arrest, job loss, freezing of bank accounts and even murder.  Access to media and in particular social media destroys businesses.   if you don’t have the correct point of view, you don’t exist. They call it 'cancel culture', a phrase that has become an accepted part of the lexicon. Several days ago an account was  closed on Youtube, as has happened many times before with one difference. On the URL where the page had been instead of the usual ’accֿount has been closed’ this appeared “This account does not exist” Poof ,Gone.

We do not and cannot  stand by, watch this happen, believing it is inevitable or  waiting for our leader , President Trump, to return. We accomplish little by, bemoaning a stolen election, convinced fair elections and convincing others are gone in this country. We do not have the leisure to wallow in depression waiting for some leader to irretrievably tells us what to do. If we believe our country is at risk, we must act. There are many tried and tested methods, as well successes. Stay tuned.