Speech is not free in the sense of being without cost; it’s free (at least theoretically) in the sense of being without restraint.
What you don’t know can kill you, and in the case of ignorance about our nation’s founding document, it can turn you into a slave to the State. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because the states were not satisfied with the claim that the Constitution was a document of “enumerated powers.” They demanded that specific rights be added to the Constitution. The first five rights added in the First Amendment were the first to be codified by a nation.
There was no king to put down criticism of his actions. The founders took full advantage of these freedoms by saying some unpopular things. Because of these five freedoms, those attacked had the freedom – the right – to respond by speech, press, assembly, religious critique (Thomas Jefferson was called an “atheist”), while at the same time to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
These freedoms are under assault from people who don’t understand the full implications of the actions. Denying other people the right to the freedom to speak might seem like a noble idea today, but these same free speech deniers might be the “other people” ten years from now.
Prominent conservatives continue to be protested, barred or disinvited from speaking on campus – even Republican members of Congress. And when the mobs fail to derail the events, protesters try to de-platform them instead. Speakers have been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for security, all because they dare to publicly express ideas that differ from those of some students, professors and school administrators. (Real Clear Politics)
But you say you’re offended? Well, you have the same freedoms to answer back. You don’t like to see the KKK march, then you don’t have to be there, or you can be there to oppose them. College campuses are the worst free-speech offenders. It’s ironic since college campuses used to be the bastions of free speech. In fact, the Free Speech Movement started on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Students insisted that the university administration lift the ban of on-campus political activities and acknowledge the students’ right to free speech and academic freedom. The Free Speech Movement was influenced by the New Left, but it’s members of the new “New Left” who are now stifling speech they disagree with.
Restoring the Foundation of Civilization
There are many Christians who will not participate in civilization-building efforts that include economics, journalism, politics, education, and science because they believe (or have been taught to believe) these areas of thought are outside the realm of what constitutes a Christian worldview. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Buy NowThere’s a lot of talk about “free speech” these days. But is it really? Speech is not free in the sense of being without cost; it’s free (at least theoretically) in the sense of being without restraint. But those who cry the loudest for “free speech” when they think theirs is being restrained, are also the biggest restrictors of speech when given the opportunity.