When Political Speech Becomes A Crime, What Happens To Freedom?

I believe in freedom of speech. I believe that a society of free men must tolerate speech that may be oppositional to commonly held beliefs. It doesn't matter whether the speech supports one political candidate or the other. I believe in freedom of the press. But, we appear to be in the middle of a trend to shout down those who don't share our beliefs. When I was in Law School, one of the fundamental precepts taught about freedom of speech was that any speech was permitted unless it became physically violent or encouraged violence. So, in the Sixties, anti-war protestors were free to walk in the streets. Does anyone believe that they have the right to speak their mind in the United States? We should take a lesson from this speech. What happens when we ignore laws that we disagree with?

 

Comments

[Jerry Lawson]

Aggressive intolerance is one of the uglier things on the scene today. It comes from both the right and the left, with liberals possibly being even worse.

When I expressed the politically incorrect view that it was a tactical error for those saying Black Lives Matter to react angrily to those who say All Lives Matter, liberals criticized me. Some things they don't want you to talk about.