A recent study by YouGov polled adults across the nation on their views of free speech. The results are both instructive and troubling.
For example, respondents were asked whether it's ever appropriate to use violence to shut down a speaker. Twenty two percent support at least shouting the speaker down with Democrats much more likely to support the tactic than Republicans (35% to 14%). This is very disappointing inasmuch as it's tantamount to an utter rejection of civility in our politics.
A second question asked which would they prefer between a “positive” learning environment on campus that prohibits speech that’s considered “offensive or biased against certain groups of people” and an “open” learning environment where students are exposed to all types of speech. Forty five percent of Democrats preferred restricting what they considered offensive speech to 37% of Republicans who would prefer that option.
The Democrat percentage was heavily influenced by the fact that many black and Latino voters support it — strongly in the case of blacks (50/20), more marginally in the case of Latinos (44/32).
Gone are the days, apparently, when liberals would freely quote the alleged words of Voltaire who supposedly declared that though he might despise what you say, he would fight to the death for your right to say it. Liberals today, or many of them, are declaring instead that if they despise what you say they'll fight to the death to prevent you from saying it.
Those who believe in liberty and the freedoms guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights, who believe that the best way to combat a bad idea is with a good argument, have a lot of work to do, especially among those who once upon a time were the staunchest defenders of free speech.
