What free speech looks like today, and why it still matters
We should use free speech to combat hate speech and treat people with more compassion and generosity, says author and former ACLU president.
Nadine Strossen at a reading in 2018.
Free speech debates have been filling up the news cycle over the past few years. To be sure, these arguments are often not directly about free speech. Often, they are about who is able to say what where, and who has the power to enforce the consequences of what we say.
Recently in Jamestown Township, Michigan, residents voted to defund its library because it carries LGBTQ-themed graphic novels. But it’s not just conservatives that sometimes don’t like free speech. Some want to make hate speech illegal.
“We should try to distinguish between criticizing certain ideas versus canceling certain people. We have to avoid such unduly, harsh, disproportionate retaliations.” — Nadine Strossen, author and law professor
Listen: Former ACLU president discusses the importance of free speech
Guest
Nadine Strossen is a former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, New York Law school emeritus professor and author of “HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship.” She says we should engage with others’ opinions with compassion rather than dismissing them.
“We should try to distinguish between criticizing certain ideas versus canceling certain people. We have to avoid such unduly, harsh, disproportionate retaliations,” says Strossen.
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