Freedom of speech means freedom from interference, suppression or punitive action by the government—and nothing else. It does not mean the right to demand the financial support or the material means to express your views at the expense of other men who may not wish to support you. Freedom of speech includes the freedom not to agree, not to listen and not to support one’s own antagonists. A “right” does not include the material implementation of that right by other men; it includes only the freedom to earn that implementation by one’s own effort. Private citizens cannot use physical force or coercion; they cannot censor or suppress anyone’s views or publications. Only the government can do so. And censorship is a concept that pertains only to governmental action. – AYN RAND
When you send your youngster off to college, you might not mind that they will have to walk on eggshells, respect taboos, snitch on fellow students for politically incorrect jokes and learn to use ad hominem arguments as a means to attack ideas they find...
Independent journalists provide facts that biased editors at the Washington Post keep in darkness.
Mark Zuckerberg wants government regulation of the internet content, not because it would somehow protect us against “harm,” but because it would protect Facebook against competition. Without free speech, we will become sheep. That is the reason we must condemn Mark Zuckerberg’s immoral plea and defend our freedom of speech
Watching this video upset me. Students and even faculty members won’t let Dave Rubin speak. They constantly interrupt, shouting “hate speech!” and “black lives matter!” Rubin was once a man of the left. He even was a co-host on The Young...
Government censorship will only reduce the ability to understand the causes of people guided by anti-capitalist ideas.
Imagine that in 1946 the general-secretary of the United Nations had submitted a resolution to the General Assembly stating that Nazi crimes were so horrendous and despicable that the countries of the world needed to impose a blanket censorship on any public reference...
The more we get accustomed to settling our disagreements with words, even offensive words, the less we need to settle disputes with fists and swords.
Politicians aren’t qualified to regulate the internet. The free market under a rule of law is.
Once the leftists gain control, as they have at many universities, free speech becomes a liability and must be suppressed.
The assertion and repetition of “white privilege,” “the one percent,” “social justice,” “racist,” “gay-basher,” “LGBT-hater,” “gender insensitivity,” etc., have had numbing effects on private and public discourse.
The intellectual intolerance and resort to physical force to prevent speakers from addressing students represents a dangerous totalitarian streak among so-called “progressives.”
If today’s students are increasingly hostile to intellectual freedom, can we really expect tomorrow’s voters, lawyers, judges, politicians to uphold free speech?
On the 15th anniversary of the worst domestic terrorist attack in history—September 11—a college student’s memorial flag display was destroyed three times.
“It’s a whole other thing if you’re encouraging and cheering on the proposed murder of Americans who are standing in defense of the freedom of speech, and then not doing anything about it. Why did the FBI only have one agent there? And not a team waiting for them to shoot back?”
An important aspect of the freedom to exercise reason is the freedom of speech: the liberty to express opinions and to persuade others, whether to advertise one’s products, to raise capital, to contract suppliers, or to recruit employees. Taking this freedom away also severely undermines companies’ ability to create material values.
In Germany, it appears that all you need to do to land in jail is be accused by a judge of having a “clear right-wing background.” Has Germany learned nothing from its prior experiences with fascism?
What’s fascinating, in a psychologically dark way, is the rationalized justification Nye provides for chilling and outlawing dissenting opinion.
Geert Wilders is on trial not for his actions, but for his opinions.
You don’t have to like Donald Trump, or his positions, to be uspet about what’s happening to freedom of speech and association in America.
In our post-Soviet era, the Marxian framework and mind games have been transformed into issues concerning “gender” and “race” as well as “social class.”
If the government subsidizes or operates newspapers, the important role of independent investigation and criticism of government actions—and the hope for changing the government—is lost.
Lynch, who is the Attorney General of the United States, is advancing the idea that not merely actions, but thoughts, ideas and feelings can and must be against the law, and are worthy of prosecution.
To truly support free speech, one has to accept that some people will say and publish things he finds deeply offensive. Similarly, to be for freedom of association, one has to accept that some people will associate in ways that he finds deeply offensive, such as associating or not associating on the basis of race, sex or religion.
Charlie Hebdo, the West and the Need to Ridicule Religion.
If we’re going to sort out which ideas are good and which are bad, everyone must be allowed to speak.
I receive loads of mail in response to my weekly nationally syndicated column. Some recent mail has been quite disturbing. Here’s a sample: “Given your support of freedom on a great many issues, I wish to bring to your attention the following George Mason...
Is it possible to separate your feelings about someone’s music, art or ideas from your respect for their individual right to practice or otherwise engage in these things? To healthy and reasonable people, the answer is yes. If you’re the mayor of Chicago — not so...
“We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.”
Freedom of speech is the fight of the 21st century.
The next time someone tells you, “Freedom of speech does not warrant provocation,” then ask them what they plan to do when someone feels provoked by something they say.
Freedom of speech; separation of church and state. These are principles to cherish, not to denigrate. The true “haters” out there are the ones who shout the label of “hater” at anyone who dares to take a moment to stand up for them.
Permitting discriminatory practices in publicly owned facilities — such as libraries, parks and beaches — should not be permitted. That is because they are publicly financed by taxpayers and everyone should have a right to equal access. Denying freedom of association in private clubs, private businesses and private schools violates a human right.
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