Thanks for this excellent essay, looking forward to your next pieces on the subject. The assault on free speech is probably the gravest threat to our civilization in modern times. Three years ago, censorship was rife already, but nothing compared with what has been going on since the start of the pandemic. The machinery is getting more sophisticated every day and most of the media are part of it. Without free speech and independent media, democracy is in fact impossible. This is why the biggest, in fact the only task for those who wish to preserve free democratic society, is to fight back to restore freedom of speech.
You are right, the pandemic provided the framework by which governments used ‘public health’ as the cover for a massive expansion of censorship and restrictions on free expression. Their allies in the largest technology companies, from Google to Twitter to Facebook, helped silence the flow and exchange of free information. Of course, restricting speech is only part of the equation. The other indispensable element in creating an acquiescent public is that tech and government must emphasize and promote only the voices that preach the officially sanctioned ‘one think.’ We are, I believe, at an inflection point for retaining or losing our free speech rights.
First, the snark: Boy, the left sure changed their minds about using federal troops to quell popular uprisings when the aggrieved turned from assaulting police stations, small businesses, the White House, war memorials, and poor neighborhoods to chasing out the congress critters in our Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Suddenly, Speaker Pelosi loved the National Guard.
Now, the important thing: Thank you, Mr. Posner. As you suggest, it takes a lot of courage in this America to speak your mind in a public forum. You're a brave man and courageous reporter in the face of the screaming, hyperbolic hoards of Woke. America needs more of you and less of them.
An afterword: Your Orwell quote is so damned appropriate.... "Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
I really liked this. It has encouraged me to not be as afraid to talk about my ideas that would get me “cancelled”. In my opinion, there is a large and silent group of people in America that shares the same philosophy as discussed in this post. They just need to stick together, use rational thinking, and back each other up. Once this starts occurring, more people will start to speak out about the lack of freedom we have been experiencing and the ideas will start flowing again. I think as a country we have started to become less intelligent. Our education system is not as strong as it was in the 1900’s and our literacy rates our lower then Russia, China, and Japan. As our youth get dumber, they will stop thinking for themselves and start following the trendy movements they see on social media. Slowly, society will start to collapse. Freedom to speak one’s mind and to think critically with reason is a sign of intelligence. The censorship of ideas and use of cancel culture/wokeness is an example of our society losing its sharpness. It is important for the people that still have reason and logic, to lead the masses again in the right direction.
They can't stop people from talking to each other, and they can't stop people from their own action. So, I posed a revolutionary idea, which was to form a voluntary, democratic organization that tasks itself with watching and redressing injustices. I'll link a one-page intro. Glad to find your substack, cheers.
Gerald can expound on this as well. He's one of the few journalists/authors who was never captured.
These 5 institutions caused/allowed great harm to be inflicted on the world. Institutions that are supposed to “search for the truth” now work tirelessly to CONCEAL important truths. Like a previous article, this piece attempts to show HOW “madness” turned our world upside down.
I, too, recall the days of yore, when liberal teachers, professors, journalists and pundits respected Free Speech. In fact, I learned respect for Free Speech from them, as their arguments for it were thoroughly compatible with the Free Market ideas I was picking up from reading Friedman, Hayek and von Mises in my freshman year of high school (whose books I learned about via the old National Review under Buckley, which was at that time an outstanding example of the principle of Free Speech and independent journalism in action.) This caused me to fall in love with Journalism, serve as editor in the creation of an independent student magazine (the first of many), and get to DC as an intern-member of the DC Press Corps just in time to cover the 1976 U. S. Bicentennial, which was a massive celebration of American freedom. The path to the restoration of the Culture of Free Speech begins through independent Journalism. It's time to launch another generation of independent student journalism that will put the Gospel of Liberty back into the hands of America's high school and college students. Are you game? :D TTyler in Texas
I have a question and an observation. My question is: How did we get to where we are today from where we were when you and I were in law school? I was taught that the remedy for speech is more speech. What has happened to that fundamental American (and British) idea? My observation is that it is frightening that we must now depend on the right to support free speech.
I often ask myself that question, “how did we get here?” It has been a steady and slow erosion, chipping away at the idea that the best fix for speech is more robust speech. I hope the pendulum has swung too far and that maybe we will see some correction to sanity but I am not confident of that yet.
This is a masterclass in context—thank you, Gerald. It’s rare to find someone who not only champions free speech in theory but traces its fragility in practice with such clarity and historical grounding.
Your experience at Speakers' Corner stands in stark contrast to the intellectual climate of today. It’s sobering—and frankly, a little terrifying—how quickly we’ve replaced the messy, vital work of open discourse with the safety blanket of ideological conformity. “One think,” as you name it, is the new orthodoxy, and it’s hollowing out our democracy from the inside.
What’s most alarming isn’t just the censorship from institutions—it’s the self-censorship, the silence born of fear. We’re raising a generation to believe that disagreement equals harm, that speech equals violence, and that moral clarity comes from silencing, not debating. That’s not progress—it’s fragility masquerading as justice.
The anecdote about Trisha’s WSJ piece and the private outpouring it received is, I think, one of the most revealing points here. When truth becomes something you only whisper in DMs, we’ve already lost more than just a debate—we’ve lost trust in the public square itself.
We don’t need safe spaces from speech. We need braver people inside it.
Appreciate you continuing to say the things people are afraid to say out loud.
Sounds plausible Gerald, except you advance with a straight face the notion Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and will not countenance the truth, which is that the Kennedy assassination was a combined operation of the CIA and Mossad – with a lot of help from Jewish Organized Crime. "Let the nastiest opinions be expressed, my first debate coach said, and then destroy them with logic and evidence"⁉️ In the immortal words of Mr. Praline: "What kind of talk is this?" 😝🤪🤣💩
Out of idle curiosity what's your opinion of the (unconstitutional and grossly illegal) Antisemitism Act wending its way through the large intestine of the US Congress? What do you think of The Donald calling for the death penalty for anyone criticizing Israel or uttering any antisemitic statements – which like far too many others, he conflates...🤔
Thanks for this excellent essay, looking forward to your next pieces on the subject. The assault on free speech is probably the gravest threat to our civilization in modern times. Three years ago, censorship was rife already, but nothing compared with what has been going on since the start of the pandemic. The machinery is getting more sophisticated every day and most of the media are part of it. Without free speech and independent media, democracy is in fact impossible. This is why the biggest, in fact the only task for those who wish to preserve free democratic society, is to fight back to restore freedom of speech.
You are right, the pandemic provided the framework by which governments used ‘public health’ as the cover for a massive expansion of censorship and restrictions on free expression. Their allies in the largest technology companies, from Google to Twitter to Facebook, helped silence the flow and exchange of free information. Of course, restricting speech is only part of the equation. The other indispensable element in creating an acquiescent public is that tech and government must emphasize and promote only the voices that preach the officially sanctioned ‘one think.’ We are, I believe, at an inflection point for retaining or losing our free speech rights.
First, the snark: Boy, the left sure changed their minds about using federal troops to quell popular uprisings when the aggrieved turned from assaulting police stations, small businesses, the White House, war memorials, and poor neighborhoods to chasing out the congress critters in our Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Suddenly, Speaker Pelosi loved the National Guard.
Now, the important thing: Thank you, Mr. Posner. As you suggest, it takes a lot of courage in this America to speak your mind in a public forum. You're a brave man and courageous reporter in the face of the screaming, hyperbolic hoards of Woke. America needs more of you and less of them.
An afterword: Your Orwell quote is so damned appropriate.... "Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
I really liked this. It has encouraged me to not be as afraid to talk about my ideas that would get me “cancelled”. In my opinion, there is a large and silent group of people in America that shares the same philosophy as discussed in this post. They just need to stick together, use rational thinking, and back each other up. Once this starts occurring, more people will start to speak out about the lack of freedom we have been experiencing and the ideas will start flowing again. I think as a country we have started to become less intelligent. Our education system is not as strong as it was in the 1900’s and our literacy rates our lower then Russia, China, and Japan. As our youth get dumber, they will stop thinking for themselves and start following the trendy movements they see on social media. Slowly, society will start to collapse. Freedom to speak one’s mind and to think critically with reason is a sign of intelligence. The censorship of ideas and use of cancel culture/wokeness is an example of our society losing its sharpness. It is important for the people that still have reason and logic, to lead the masses again in the right direction.
They just need to stick together, use rational thinking, and back each other up"
A recipe for success, no doubt. It will require some personal courage but that becomes easier as more refuse to be cowed into silence.
They can't stop people from talking to each other, and they can't stop people from their own action. So, I posed a revolutionary idea, which was to form a voluntary, democratic organization that tasks itself with watching and redressing injustices. I'll link a one-page intro. Glad to find your substack, cheers.
https://markgmeyers.substack.com/p/introduction-to-a-democratic-approach
I'll spread the word, thanks for the headsup
Gerald can expound on this as well. He's one of the few journalists/authors who was never captured.
These 5 institutions caused/allowed great harm to be inflicted on the world. Institutions that are supposed to “search for the truth” now work tirelessly to CONCEAL important truths. Like a previous article, this piece attempts to show HOW “madness” turned our world upside down.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/these-5-institutions-allowed-great
Good article Bill, you nailed it
Thank you, Gerald. Simple observations, but I think people should think about what this means for our country's future.
I, too, recall the days of yore, when liberal teachers, professors, journalists and pundits respected Free Speech. In fact, I learned respect for Free Speech from them, as their arguments for it were thoroughly compatible with the Free Market ideas I was picking up from reading Friedman, Hayek and von Mises in my freshman year of high school (whose books I learned about via the old National Review under Buckley, which was at that time an outstanding example of the principle of Free Speech and independent journalism in action.) This caused me to fall in love with Journalism, serve as editor in the creation of an independent student magazine (the first of many), and get to DC as an intern-member of the DC Press Corps just in time to cover the 1976 U. S. Bicentennial, which was a massive celebration of American freedom. The path to the restoration of the Culture of Free Speech begins through independent Journalism. It's time to launch another generation of independent student journalism that will put the Gospel of Liberty back into the hands of America's high school and college students. Are you game? :D TTyler in Texas
I have a question and an observation. My question is: How did we get to where we are today from where we were when you and I were in law school? I was taught that the remedy for speech is more speech. What has happened to that fundamental American (and British) idea? My observation is that it is frightening that we must now depend on the right to support free speech.
I often ask myself that question, “how did we get here?” It has been a steady and slow erosion, chipping away at the idea that the best fix for speech is more robust speech. I hope the pendulum has swung too far and that maybe we will see some correction to sanity but I am not confident of that yet.
Outstanding. IF Stone: https://youtu.be/qV3gO3zxQ1g?t=1185
It’s got to start somewhere, no doubt
This is a masterclass in context—thank you, Gerald. It’s rare to find someone who not only champions free speech in theory but traces its fragility in practice with such clarity and historical grounding.
Your experience at Speakers' Corner stands in stark contrast to the intellectual climate of today. It’s sobering—and frankly, a little terrifying—how quickly we’ve replaced the messy, vital work of open discourse with the safety blanket of ideological conformity. “One think,” as you name it, is the new orthodoxy, and it’s hollowing out our democracy from the inside.
What’s most alarming isn’t just the censorship from institutions—it’s the self-censorship, the silence born of fear. We’re raising a generation to believe that disagreement equals harm, that speech equals violence, and that moral clarity comes from silencing, not debating. That’s not progress—it’s fragility masquerading as justice.
The anecdote about Trisha’s WSJ piece and the private outpouring it received is, I think, one of the most revealing points here. When truth becomes something you only whisper in DMs, we’ve already lost more than just a debate—we’ve lost trust in the public square itself.
We don’t need safe spaces from speech. We need braver people inside it.
Appreciate you continuing to say the things people are afraid to say out loud.
Sounds plausible Gerald, except you advance with a straight face the notion Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and will not countenance the truth, which is that the Kennedy assassination was a combined operation of the CIA and Mossad – with a lot of help from Jewish Organized Crime. "Let the nastiest opinions be expressed, my first debate coach said, and then destroy them with logic and evidence"⁉️ In the immortal words of Mr. Praline: "What kind of talk is this?" 😝🤪🤣💩
Out of idle curiosity what's your opinion of the (unconstitutional and grossly illegal) Antisemitism Act wending its way through the large intestine of the US Congress? What do you think of The Donald calling for the death penalty for anyone criticizing Israel or uttering any antisemitic statements – which like far too many others, he conflates...🤔
Have you read about Ireland’s new hate speech bill?