The Dangers and Fraud of 'Hate Speech'

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

The recent shootings in Atlanta have again brought forth the hackneyed and predictable hue and cry from the political left on the subject of so-called “hate speech”.  The Madison Conservative rejects the premise outright because the United States Constitution provides for something called ‘free speech.’ Sadly, the political left seems to give belief to the free speech concept, but only in so far as the citizenry walking in lockstep with what they consider ‘acceptable’ speech. A tenet of conservatism is contained in the following quote:

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

The words above reportedly originated with an English author named Evelyn Beatrice Hall in 1906. Simple, direct and wildly American, almost uniquely so.  The members of the sycophantic and stenographic media dutifully promote the concept of ‘hate speech’ without giving any indication of the troubling nature of the term.

Consider:

A citizen has, let us say, the predilection of spewing forth racist language. They do not act on it in any way, and yet still wonders why they are shunned by neighbors and co-workers. It is their birthright to say what he wants, just as much as it is others right to ostracize them. No one has a right to silence another’s speech. It is that simple and basic. The Madison Conservative will explore the rights of free speech and social media in forthcoming posts. Sadly, the political class, under the guise of empathy, has concocted the nonsense that is ‘hate speech’.  The effect is that now, if a citizen commits a crime, the prosecution can investigate somebody’s THOUGHTS, and if they are found to be unacceptable, ADDITIONAL penalties for the crime can be assessed, not because of their actions, but because of the operation of their mind. This should concern those who hold dear the principles ensconced in our founding documents. As the political left lurches and careens into full blown socialism, how soon until those who espoused capitalism are brought before a judicial tribunal to answer for their crimes of thought.

The Madison Conservative does not engage in hysteria or hyperbole. For anyone who might think such a scenario to be wholly ridiculous, please note that Richard Reich, former Clinton cabinet member, along with some freshman congress people, have been promoting the concept of a ‘truth commission’. Their target? All those who actively or passively supported the Trump administration. Holding some 75 million Americans accountable for what the state has deemed unacceptable thought is a despotic regime’s dream scenario. Freedom must be fought for and defended at every turn. If someone commits a crime against another, or the public as a whole, they should be brought before a court and held responsible.

The act of thinking must never rise to that level of accountability.

The argument that unlimited free speech helps create Hitlers is nonsense. What creates Hitlers is the environment where speech and thought is driven underground to grow and fester.  The willingness to listen, and to defend speech you find repugnant, is the hallmark of a thriving democracy and a worldwide model of the freedom enjoyed by a self-governing people.

Fear of free expression is a guarantee that freedom shall perish from the face of the earth.

For anyone who feels that this column is hate speech itself, perhaps they should first gaze into their mirrors.