Those of us who observe and criticize ideologies of all kinds observe that ideologues invariably fall into the most wild of hypocrisies.
So the left wing–who have always been advocates of free speech–defenders of protesters, defenders of pornography, defenders of attacks on Christianity, defenders of attacks on the family–all in the name of freedom of speech now want freedom of speech curtailed.
So this article by an Australian calling for “anti-choice” speech to be banned. Abortion is a human right and pro choice activists oppress women so they should not have the freedom to speak.
If freedom of speech does not protect racism – which everyone agrees that it doesn’t – then why should freedom of speech protect anyone trying to argue against a woman’s human right to make decisions about her own body? Freedom of speech should never be a license to oppose human rights, to spread lies and ignorance, or to argue against the common good. To quote the prominent theology professor Neil Ormerod: “Free speech for racist bigots, free speech for climate denialists. Where will it end? Free speech for the tobacco industry to deny smoking causes cancer? There is a value in free speech to promote reasoned discussion and deliberation. And then there is obdurate and at times wilful ignorance. Smoking does cause cancer, there are no superior races and human-induced climate change is as certain as it is scientifically possible to demonstrate.”
There are certain things that, in a free and democratic society, are simply not up for debate. Racial equality is one of those things, hence why we crack down hard on anyone attempting to spread racial hatred. Vaccines are another one of those things, hence why we’re now passing laws to ban anyone from spreading anti-vaccine lies. A woman’s uterus is also not up for debate. By opposing a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, one is essentially saying that women are not equal to men and thus do not have human rights. How is this any different than racism? Why is this something that should be legally permissible?
Freedom of Speech for all….except those who oppose me.
The same argument can be made for most anything the ideologies want: same sex marriage, the transgender issue, immigration, religion. You name it–if someone somewhere calls it “hate speech” it will be banned and the “hater” will be locked up.
It’s only a short hop to say that any conservative Christian is, by very definition, involved in hate speech should he proclaim his faith and values in the public square.
Buckle your seat belts.
We’re in for a bumpy ride.
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