What separates our species from the others is that we can
reason, we can communicate complex thoughts to each other, and we can achieve
the things that the other species cannot. We call civilization the sum total of
our achievements, and recognize that it is the result of our natural talent to
reason, to communicate and to do the things that the other species cannot do.
Given that speech is an important component of what
constitutes our civilization, we need to know that it is not misused at any
time or abused in any way. And this is why there has always been give-and-take
on the subject of speech with regard to what is allowed and what is not. This
approach has led to the making of rules which included penalties for violating
them … going as far as execution.
The give-and-take continues to this day, which is why we
encounter two fresh articles on the subject of speech. One article came under
the title: “The Flight from Reason on Campus” and the subtitle: “And the
madness of crowds.” It was written by James W. Ceaser and published on December
12, 2014 in the Weekly Standard. The other is a piece written by the editors of
the Wall Street Journal under the title: “Unfree Speech on Campus” and the
subtitle: “A new study shows too many colleges still behave like censors.” It
was published on December 13, 2014 in the Journal.
James Ceaser, who is a university professor, explores the
relationship that exists between speech and its use as an instrument to find
the truth. He reminds the readers that the university has been the traditional
place where the quest to find the truth has taken place. But things have
changed, he goes on to say, and that is no longer the case. He laments that the
speech which goes after the truth for its own sake is all but banned on campus
nowadays, whereas the adoption of lies that quickly become dogmas, is
flourishing because the idea of a lie in the service of a good cause is readily
embraced by what he calls a gentle mob, postmodern style.
He gives numerous examples to this effect, one of them being
a reported rape case on campus that turned out to be greatly exaggerated. When
the truth came out despite the effort to conceal it, the “activists,” as he
calls them, were disappointed but remained undeterred. This is because in their
view “the facts of this case ultimately do not matter. It is the larger cause
that matters.” And this is what leads Ceaser to conclude that: “Far from being
an end in itself, the truth is now treated as an instrument of combat. It is
wielded when it promotes a preferred cause and then abandoned when it produces
the opposite result.”
As to the editors of the Wall Street Journal, they cite a
report prepared by a foundation which claims that it found “severely restrictive”
policies were adopted, and that they remain in force in a high percentage of
the colleges it surveyed. The editors give numerous examples of this, which
they use to criticize the colleges when in fact; the examples demonstrate that
the colleges are earnestly struggling to find a formula by which to allow free
speech while restricting its possible misuse or abuse.
Some of the activities that the colleges are trying to
curtail fall under such categories as “abusive and offensive remarks” as well
as “threats and intimidation” also “Cyberbullying,” and “harassment.” And this
is precisely what forces us to steer the discussion in the direction of the
history that brought us to this point. It is something that both James Ceaser
and the Journal editors ignored for a reason that may be obscure to some but
not to yours truly. Look to the top of this page, and you'll find a moniker
that says: “Ideas that were suppressed for 40 years.” I am speaking from
experience … a very long experience.
It was the Jews who decades ago set out to “educate' the
North American public as to what was “offensive” or “insensitive” or
“dis-comfortable” to the Jews. They sued or threatened to sue anyone for being
“slanderous,” even “antisemitic” if they deliberately or inadvertently said the
wrong thing. That sent the chill down the spine of everyone, including the
editors of wealthy and powerful publications who saw that hundred million
dollar lawsuits were too big a burden even for them to want to challenge the
Jewish threats.
But having no money they can sue me for, I dared write:
“Don't listen to propaganda, Egypt
is a civilized country” and that was slanderous and uncomfortable enough for
them to threaten anyone who would publish me, with ruin. And they all cowered
like puppies that ran to hide under the sofa.
After forty years of Jewish horror, I was able to overcome
the difficulties – including those pertaining to my health – to take advantage
of the internet and tell my story thus neutralize the ocean of filth that the
Jews have been pouring about me behind my back. They did it at a time when I
had no means to defend myself even if I knew what they were whispering in the
ears of those who listened to them.
And it is those same Jews, and their same organizations who
are today trying to “educate” the North American public as to the value of free
speech. This is the voice of the serial rapist telling the head of every North
American household: I may have raped your wife and you're not happy about it
but if you lend me your little daughter, I promise I'll only show her how to
enjoy sex when it is done for love.