Free Speech Belongs to All of Us

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Several years ago, our campus dis-invited a conservative speaker who was set to speak on issues related to the then-upcoming 2016 presidential election. While I identify politically very differently from said speaker (proud member of the Working Families Party of New York right here, if you're wondering), I truly believe in the importance of freedom of speech and its several sibling concepts (e.g., academic freedom and open inquiry). As an academic who is interested in having ideas from a broad array of viewpoints be expressed and explored as part of knowledge creation, I care deeply about ensuring people's right to express themselves. In 2016, I agreed to head a task force on free speech for the campus to help our community deal with the dis-invite, which many folks found concerning.

At the time, many people were unhappy that said conservative speaker was re-invited. And I think that the free speech task force that I headed may not have been the most popular entity on campus at the time. But regardless of how ardently I personally disagreed with pretty much everything that this particular speaker said (who did end up speaking on campus eventually), to this day, I stand by the basic principle of freedom of speech as a basic right in a democracy. Allowing him to speak at a public university within standard parameters that surround free speech, such as those pertaining to safety, defamation, and genuine hate speech, was, as I see it, simply the right thing to do. And if people disagreed with his points, then this forum would allow them to raise their concerns directly with him in a public manner. And that is exactly what happened.

Back then (about eight years ago now), supporting free speech was often conflated in people's minds with some kind of far-right agenda—an agenda that is often antithetical to ideological norms on many campuses today (see Burmila, 2021). I heard people argue that free speech needed to have limits, that it is an inherently unfair concept as some people in society have more opportunities to express themselves than do others, and that free speech was something of a tool of the far-right to maintain some sort of status quo. While I am actually sympathetic to some of these concerns, at the end of the day, a democracy without the right to free speech is not really a democracy at all in my book.

A lot has changed in eight years. Without getting into too much of the details, the current war between Israel and Hamas has, throughout the world, it seems, given the topic of free speech front-and-center stage once again.

However, it is interesting to see that the politics of free speech seem to have changed—partly as a matter of convenience. On so many campuses, several students and other activists this past semester chose to exercise their free speech rights to make statements against much of the brutality and horror that has been launched as part of that war. Students, professors, and all kinds of activists have been taking to activism (e.g., assembling to express their opinions, carrying picket signs that express their views, etc.). As an advocate of free speech (see a recent paper that I (along with several others) coauthored related to this issue, Clark et al., 2023), to the extent that they are carried out peacefully and safely, I support these individuals in their efforts—regardless of my stance on the issues that they are concerned about. In other words, to my mind, free speech protections and rights must be distributed across the board (again, keeping in mind standard limitations pertaining to such issues as inciting violence, defamation, libel, etc.).

The Free Speech Irony of 2024

It is more than a little interesting to me that the same people who argued against free speech when it came to dis-inviting conservative speakers seem to be adamantly standing by the tenets of free speech and First Amendment rights when it comes to supporting expressions about the Hamas/Israel war on campus. By and large, these campus protests (conspicuously documented at such campuses as UCLA and Columbia—along with many others) have taken a pro-Palistinean viewpoint. And given that more than 30,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in this conflict (with a large proportion of the deceased having been children), it is not hard to understand the outrage and concerns that are being expressed (although, of course, this is a famously complex issue with deep historical and political roots—all of which is beyond the purview of this piece). In any case, a true advocate of freedom of speech should be blind to any particular viewpoint that is being expressed. That is the whole idea of free speech in the first place.

Many academics who decried free speech several years ago when conservative speakers were being dis-invited from campuses left and right are now citing the importance of free speech when it comes to allowing for peaceful protests and demonstrations that are largely consistent with their viewpoints.

When It Comes to Free Speech, We Cannot Pick and Choose

When people support free speech on a convenience basis, free speech rights become lost. The First Amendment of the Constitution does not specify that freedom of speech applies to some viewpoints but not to others. We may disagree ardently with someone's viewpoint. But disallowing that viewpoint to be expressed—particularly in public, government-owned spaces (such as campuses of state universities)—has the capacity to reduce freedom of expression for all of us down the line.

Then They Came for Me

This renowned quote, "... then they came for me ..." is often attributed to Martin Niemöller in reference to the atrocities of the Holocaust. This point, which speaks for itself in these five simple yet chilling words, bears importance on the issue of reducing free speech rights. The second that people start to pick and choose what ideas are allowed to be expressed freely and what ideas are not, we all (perhaps without realizing it) start down a slippery slope. If a strong and vocal group successfully shuts down free expression regarding Issue X, that could come back and bite those same individuals at a later point when they are trying to express their viewpoints on Issue Y. The second that people in a democracy start to pick and choose what viewpoints are allowed to be expressed freely and what viewpoints are not, down the line, free speech rights end up being diluted for everyone.

When it comes to efforts to reduce the free speech of others, people shouldn't be surprised that, at some point, similar efforts may well be directed at them. In other words, if you actively take steps to reduce the free speech of others, and free speech rights become diluted in general, the "anti free speech police" may well come for you one day.

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Bottom Line

I feel fortunate to live in a democracy. It is not perfect. Not by any means. But I find myself as someone with a lot to say on lots of topics and I am truly grateful for free speech rights (and its sibling that we call academic freedom). Being disallowed to express certain perspectives to study certain topics or to present certain research findings is nothing short of censorship.

When it comes to freedom of expression, whether we like it or not, we need to realize that this right applies not only to our own viewpoints or ideas but also to the viewpoints and ideas of those with whom we may disagree quite ardently. The second that our communities start to limit freedom of expression for selected viewpoints, the rights of freedom of expression for everyone become diluted. And our democracy actually becomes less of a democracy. And I would guess that most people don't want that.

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Note: This piece was partly inspired by conversations with SUNY New Paltz political scientist, Dr. Dan Lipson.