OPINION:
More than one in five college students say America deserved the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the new National Undergraduate Student Survey conducted by Inquire LLC for the Buckley Institute. Another 45 percent of college students say that physical violence is sometimes necessary to stop hate speech. Another 40 percent say “offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution,” with liberal-leaning students — 47 percent — being the most supportive. And finally, 42 percent say they favor socialism over capitalism, with 47 percent claiming Cuba offers an economy that’s superior to America’s.
Say hello to the future leaders of the free world — a bunch of socialist-loving, speech-censoring, Molotov cocktail-throwing ignorant youth.
At the same time, they want to prosecute offensive speech, though they profess staunch support for free speech and constitutional rights. According to the survey, 73 percent said they believe in the importance of the Constitution and 87 percent, for the First Amendment, specifically. On top of that, 66 percent, “the highest on record, agreed that hate speech is technically protected by the First Amendment,” the Buckley Institute wrote.
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How does that work then?
Either people are free to speak — or they’re not. And the typical example wonky types like to give while making the case that speech is already regulated by government is the one where it’s illegal to yell “fire” in a crowded theater if, in fact, there is no fire.
Well, that’s not really speech.
Founding Fathers, when they wrote the First Amendment, were concerned with political speech and speech that ran counter to popular opinion and speech that fueled strong emotions and pushback and created hot debate. They wanted to ensure Americans weren’t going to be thrown in jail for the crime of calling out their public servants and political classes for corruption or scandal or immorality.
They wanted to make sure the tyrants who weave their ways into government and positions of power would never be able to stifle those who disagreed, and those who outed their tyranny.
The First Amendment’s freedom of speech was actually an underscore of what citizens already have by way of a right from their Creator — it’s a God-given right and liberty. The First Amendment’s freedom of speech, as well as the other four listed human rights — of religion, of the press, to peacefully assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances — were all basic checks on government; checks on government power; checks on the expansion of government power.
“The free speech picture this year, as in many past years, indicates that many college students support free speech in theory but endorse censorship in practice,” the Buckley Institute wrote.
Free speech is not a white paper topic. It’s a real, real-life right, and whenever government wants to withhold it, it’s incumbent on government to explain and justify the reasons for withholding to the people. That is: the default setting for free speech is yes, the citizens can say that — until the citizens decide the government is allowed to curb that.
And therein lies the problem with this coming generation of leaders.
If college students can’t see the incompatibility of free speech with limits on offensive speech, then what will ensue, sooner or later, are limits on all types of speech.
That’s how the communist nations do it. They say they’re limiting freedom for security, for safety, for the good of all citizens. At a certain point, these limits turn into tyrannical clamps on rights and liberties. Voila, a dictatorship is born.
“22 percent say America Deserved 9/11,” Buckley wrote.
“Half of undergraduates say America is ‘inextricably linked to white supremacy,” Buckley wrote.
“Notably, America’s college students swung heavily toward socialism … with 42 percent saying they would rather live under a socialist system versus just 28 percent who said they would rather live under a capitalist one. The 14-point spread in favor of socialism is the largest in the five years this question has been asked and only the third time socialism has led capitalism,” Buckley wrote.
Put it all together and what seems clear is that at best, America’s emerging leaders will be confused about the rights and liberties they’re supposed to protect. At worst? They’ll outright condemn them and seek to replace them with a more tyrannical system of governance. Picture an America run entirely by the likes of an Abdul El-Sayed, a James Talarico, an Ilhan Omar, an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Zohran Mamdani. Perish the thought.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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