by John W. Whitehead \/ August 12th, 2018<\/p>\n
\nWhoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.
\u2015 Benjamin Franklin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat a mess.<\/p>\n
As America has become ever more polarized, and those polarized factions have become more militant and less inclined to listen to\u2014or even allow for the existence of\u2014other viewpoints, we are fast becoming a nation of people who just can\u2019t get along.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing: if Americans don\u2019t learn how to get along\u2014at the very least, agreeing to disagree and respecting each other\u2019s right to subscribe to beliefs and opinions that may be offensive, hateful, intolerant or merely different\u2014then we\u2019re going to soon find that we have no rights whatsoever (to speak, assemble, agree, disagree, protest, opt in, opt out, or forge our own paths as individuals).<\/p>\n
In such an environment, when we can\u2019t agree to disagree, the bullies (on both sides) win and freedom suffers.<\/p>\n
Intolerance, once the domain of the politically correct and self-righteous, has been institutionalized, normalized and politicized.<\/p>\n
Even those who dare to defend speech that may be unpopular or hateful as a constitutional right are now accused of \u201cweaponizing the First Amendment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n
On college campuses across the country, speakers whose views are deemed \u201coffensive\u201d to some of the student body are having their invitations recalled or cancelled, being shouted down by hecklers, or forced to hire costly security details. As The…<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n