Ah, free speech! To be an absolutist requires an iron grip on steely principles.
The old chestnut, “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” was Voltaire's, albeit paraphrased by biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall. In any case, it's a hell of a brave notion.
As we descend into the election abyss, with so much flak in the air from both sides, it's a good time for a gut check. Will you become triggered and snap over, say, a burning American flag? Assault some antifa twerp and end up in jail for the weekend, or be sued? Perhaps immortalized on TikTok like the "That mf'er back there isn't real" lady?
The bait is out there.
The New York Post reported today on an interesting new item on eBay: Trump shooting targets.
We'll state the obvious: the item is simultaneously tacky, repulsive, immature, an incitement to violence, profiteering on attempted murder, and grossly provocative. That said, we should object to its removal from the website.
(The item has, in fact, been removed, for those keeping score.)
But that's not the point. We don't win by altering our principles to fit the mood of the day. Easily said, right? But where to draw the line? Surely there's a "too far"?
Remember when Ron DeSantis seemed like the heir apparent to the MAGA throne? He did a tremendous job by most accounts during Covid, refusing to mandate vaccines, and allowing businesses to stay open. Then he lost sight of what small government means and banned LGBT+ texts from schools.
It felt like a victory at the time.
Is it ridiculous of the left to accuse us of wanting to ban LGBT+ books in elementary schools (as they are in some states)? How dare they call us censors? We're trying to protect our children from a degenerate, contagious ideology, doggone it!
So what if we have to borrow just a little bit of censorship?
Yes, but...then we're no better than they are when they cancel Matt Walsh and his ilk from lecturing at universities. Or locking up nonviolent J6 protesters for months in solitary confinement. It's all "speech", as defined by the US Constitution (and interpreted by the Supreme Court).
Anyone hear from Ron DeSantis lately? Me neither.
"Yeah, but then they get away with their perversion!" some say. Do they, though? The way to get rid of this stain on our schools is to root out the people behind the perversity. The material will disappear when there's no one left to teach it, or order fresh supplies.
Teach your children to reject and question the material until the teacher loses "their" patience. These people have thin skin. Maybe a teacher flips "their" lid and gets fired.
In other words, get engaged civically. Take it to the enemy intellectually. Run for your local school board. Vote against anyone who represents a "progressive" agenda. Win by replacement, not muzzling. Otherwise, they'll find a work-around, become even more clandestine in their bad deeds.
I have done it, bot I could do a LOT more. I'm friends with people who have organized entire towns. If you want to truly engage, but you feel clueless as to how to start, let me know in the comments. I'll hook you up with best practices, and that's a promise.
To summarize: just like guns don't kill people, neither do books. It's the person pointing it at, or handing it to, another individual.
