We are blessed to live in an extraordinary country formed by the greatest collection of talent, brains, and bravery in history. Each person added a special element to the mix. One changed the world and gave us something no other country has. James Madison, the principal author of the Bill of Rights, gave us the gift of all ten amendments but the essential one that is missing from any other country — the First Amendment which provided us with freedom of speech. Recently, an international controversy happened because of the contrast.
Our newly minted Vice-President, J.D. Vance, delivered a speech in Munich on February 14th, the effects of which are still reverberating. Vance was thought to be speaking about eternal threats to our European allies – particularly from Russia. Instead, Vance spoke of the internal threats to democracy from leaders and governments, particularly focusing on newfound free speech restrictions on the citizens of our most important allies.
Vance castigated Sweden’s government for convicting a Christian activist for burning a Quran. He also went after the United Kingdom for restrictions on religious expression near abortion clinics and Germany for suppression of anti-feminist online comments. These are just a few of the widespread crackdowns by European governments.
You may be thinking we are likewise experiencing some of this. The Biden Administration was guilty of First Amendment violations in an enormous manner which is being countered by our new government. There were vast limitations brought on by the COVID regime and the spread of the terminology – “false information or disinformation.” A perfect example of that is Jay Bhattacharya who co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration with two other noted scientists who have expertise in the area. Fauci and Collins tried to suppress the now-redeemed Declaration after disgusting attempts to suppress anyone’s observations of it other than the “anointed” ones. The ultimate vindication is that Dr. Bhattacharya is now head of the National Institutes of Health to ensure we have open debate and free speech when it comes to science and our medical system.
Matt Taibbi jumped into this issue. Michael Shellenberger and Taibbi are the principal authors of the Twitter Files that brought forth the horrid attempts by the Biden regime to repress free speech through government coercion. Taibbi has quickly become an American hero for his work in the free speech arena. He is the co-author of The Library: Timeline of Foreign Censorship Laws, https://www.racket.news/p/the-library-timeline-of-foreign-censorship.
While Vance was being chastised for taking on Europe’s abridgement of their citizen’s right to free speech, Tiabbi and Kathleen McCook catalogued the details of how the EU and its members have gone after limiting free expression. Mind you none of these governments have a First Amendment right, but that brings into focus the bigger question: why not?
After the right to free speech was given to all Americans by our government (never to be taken away), why have none of these countries adopted a similar rule into their own Constitutions? These governments like to chastise Communist countries and countries like Russia for their suppression of freedoms, but any government can always limit your ability to express yourself without freedom of speech, not to mention other rights.
What fears do our allies’ governments have by stating the words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Many of the current restrictions came about because of two things: COVID and the internet. The United States faced its own attempts to sequester our thoughts in these two spaces as delineated above. In the end, the difference is we have those cherished words in the prior paragraph. Even the birthplaces of democracy like Greece and England who helped to give us the idea of free thought are not free of curtailments.
Vance was right to take on our allies in the Western world. If they don’t protect free speech, then who will? If we are really the leader of the free world then we should also be the leader on this issue. It should not be only our special right. It should be available to all free people.
