The Anti-Free Speech Movement on Americas College Campuses

The Anti-Free Speech Movement on America's College Campuses The nation's leftists, whether in academia or the news media tout themselves as advocates of free speech. Back in 1964, it was Mario Savio a campus leftist who led the Free Speech Movement at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, a movement that without question played a vital role in placing American universities center stage in the flow of political ideas no matter how controversial, unpatriotic and vulgar. From the Nazis to the Stalinists leftists have always supported free speech rights, at least initially. Why? Because speech is important for the realization of leftist goals of command and control. People must be propagandized, proselytized and convinced. However, once the leftists are in power, as they are in most universities, free speech becomes a liability and must be suppressed. This is increasingly the case on college campuses and even finds its way into the work place. West Virginia University's student handbook reads in part: "Individuals or organizations may utilize designated free speech areas on a first-come, first-served basis without making reservations." Adding, ". . .the two designated areas for free speech and assembly will be the amphitheater area of the Mountainlair plaza and the concrete stage area in front of the Mountainlair and adjacent to the WVU Bookstore." In other words, 99 percent of West Virginia's campus was made into a censorship zone. This Nazi-Stalinist-like policy did not last long. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) began a campaign of public exposure and the Charlottesville, Virginia-based Rutherford Institute brought suit. This persuaded West Virginia University... ...nese, Jewish, African or Arab and hold Western values. It's no accident that western values of reason and individual rights have produced unprecedented health, life expectancy, wealth and comfort for the ordinary person. There's an indisputable positive relationship between liberty and standards of living. Western values are by no means secure. They are under ruthless attack by the academic elite on college campuses across America. These people want to replace personal liberty with government control; they want to replace equality with entitlement; they want to halt progress in the name of protecting the environment. As such they pose a much greater threat to our way of life than any terrorist or rogue nation. Multiculturalism and diversity are a cancer on our society and ironically, with our tax dollars and charitable donations to universities, we're feeding it.