A front-page article in Sunday’s @nytimes was titled “How Conservatives Weaponized the First Amendment,” quoting left-leaning figures who signal their frustration with recent court cases protecting conservative speech. /1
@nytimes A Georgetown Law professor recently made waves with a forthcoming law review article titled, “Can free speech be progressive?” /2
He asserts, “The answer is no,” lamenting that progressives “just can’t shake their mindless attraction to the bright flame of our free speech tradition.” /3
Those on the left who argue that it’s time to jettison our nation’s uniquely liberal conception of free speech are making a grievous mistake, but not a new one. /4
The idea that freedom of speech has ceased to be of use to those on the political left simply doesn’t comport with reality. /5
Within just the last year, FIRE used the First Amendment to successfully vindicate the rights of college students in Iowa to advocate for marijuana legalization, and in Illinois to pass out flyers attacking capitalism. /6
The fact that the logic of freedom of speech can be used by both sides, or that your side can’t win them all, is hardly a new discovery. The principles are viewpoint-neutral. /7
In the campus context, FIRE uses the same legal arguments to defend a student’s right to pass out flyers about animal abuse as we do when defending a libertarian student group trying to hand out copies of the Constitution. /8
In today’s hyper-polarized politics, labeling an idea or proposition as merely a weapon for, or a conspiracy by, the other side is akin to giving partisans a permission slip to turn off their brains. /9
It’s much harder to step back and consider that what you see as a “sword” in the hands of your opposition might look a whole lot more like a shield to the other side. /10
The First Amendment, and the culture of free speech for which it serves as a touchstone, is a key part of what makes the great experiment of our nation work. /11
If we intend to keep our nation going into its 243rd year and beyond, we had better continue to avoid the temptation to forcibly silence our opponents rather than persuade them to our side. /12
The First Amendment is for all Americans, regardless of their politics. /13
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