The Free Speech Distinction that Many People Refuse to Understand

I am repeatedly stunned by the number of people, many of them claiming to be politically progressive, who willingly and consciously refuse to recognize this distinction:

I wholly disapprove of what you say and will defend to the death your right to say it.

Voltaire

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California Attempts to Muzzle Doctors who Question the COVID Orthodoxy. The ACLU Brings Suit.

Without any doubt the ACLU will win this lawsuit for declaratory judgment. California passed a ridiculous law attempting to muzzle physicians who question the "contemporary scientific consensus" on how to treat COVID. Here's a quote from the lawsuit:

Rarely does a state legislature pass a bill that is so obviously unconstitutional. Even more rarely does a governor sign that bill into law. For the reasons put forth below, Plaintiffs ask the Court to declare AB 2098 unconstitutional and halt its enforcement before it goes into effect.

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The Need to Hate and Fear Censorship

We need to be more aggressive about the evil of censorship. Censorship is a blatant lie, disguised as an action. It is the false claim that there is no other side to the story. Or it's a false claim that any challenge to the prevailing narrative is bullshit before we even hear it. Censorship constitutes lies of omission. It is a technique for manipulating people by deceiving them. When used on social media, censorship is a tactic for fooling innocent users that a view is universally embraced when it is actually contested and, in fact, might be the minority view.

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Noam Chomsky Explains Freedom of Speech

Chomsky: "I do not think that the state has the right to determine historical truth and to punish because I'm not willing to give the state that right even if they happen . . ."

Unknown man: "Even if they deny that the gas chambers existed?"

Chomsky: "I'm saying if you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. I mean, Goebbels was in favor of freedom of speech he liked, right? So was Stalin. If you're in favor of freedom speech, that means you're in favor of free speech precisely for views you despise. Otherwise, you're not in favor of freedom of speech. There are two positions we can have on freedom of speech, and you can decide which position you want."

Chomsky: "With regard to my defense of the people who express utterly offensive views, I don't have the slightest doubt that every commissar says, "You're defending that person's views." No, I'm not. I'm defending his right to express them. The difference is crucial, and the difference has been understood outside of fascist circles since the 18th century."

Glenn Greenwald has focused on this issue repeatedly because many people who consider themselves to be "liberal" have abandoned free speech, now embracing the opposite, censorship of things they find offensive and things they don't like.  I agree with Greenwald. Many modern so-called liberals have dramatically changed positions on free speech as a stealth maneuver.  They won't admit that they formerly embraced wide-open free speech (the version described by Chomsky) and they won't explain why they turned their position upside down.

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