(CTJ) RIP FREEDOM OF SPEECH

John Adams wrote that the real war for American independence was won in the hearts and minds of the people, with the help of newspapers and pamphlets, which “enlightened and informed” public opinion. 

Freedom of expression, which the American colonists inherited from the British liberal tradition, was thus a catalyst for the creation of a new nation. In Britain today, however, the public seems to be losing interest in such liberty: a December 2021 YouGov poll found that 43 percent of respondents valued protecting people from offensive or hateful remarks over the right to free speech.

It’s no wonder that so many Britons feel this way—especially when their own police are out enforcing a new social-justice regime. When they’re not busy having their squad cars decorated in rainbow flags or virtue-signaling on Twitter about their pronouns, the police are busy telling the public how to think, having dedicated a vast amount of time, money, and resources into “raising awareness” and encouraging people to report their neighbors’ supposed hate crimes. In February last year, police in The Wirral showed up with a digital advertising van informing shoppers that “being offensive is an offence.” Meantime, a recent report found that in the last five years, almost 1 million burglaries have gone unsolved. More of this article (City Journal) - link - Noel Yaxley - link - The Free Speech Union - link - more like this (civil liberties) - link