Quote of the Day: Greenwald on the importance of unpopular speech

Glenn Greenwald

The ACLU recently stepped into controversial waters by defending the right of neo-Nazis to assemble in Charlottesville, Virginia, continuing their tradition of upholding civil liberties for everyone, regardless of ideology, politics or popularity. Just last week, they sued the DC Metro for rejecting ads by professional troll Milo Yiannopoulos, amongst others. (Also rejected: their own ad featuring the First Amendment. Feel free to make your own ironic quip.)

Just as predictably, many of those on the Left who applaud the ACLU for pushing back against Right-wing discrimination are now heaping ire and condemnation upon the group for doing exactly what they’ve done for decades. It seems they were expecting the ACLU to be as partisan as they are, rather than the principled and equal-opportunity defenders of civil liberties that they’ve always been.

Glenn Greenwald has penned an excellent defense of this principle of defending free speech on all sides, regardless of the speaker’s likeability. The whole thing is absolutely worth reading (though ideally you shouldn’t find much new in it, if you already know what free speech truly entails), but this line summarizes the whole idea perfectly and succinctly:

In sum, purporting to oppose fascism by allowing the state to ban views it opposes is like purporting to oppose human rights abuses by mandating the torture of all prisoners.

The ACLU and other true free speech advocates don’t go to bat for deplorables like White supremacists because they agree with their speech, which they find hateful and repellent as does anyone else. It’s the principle of free speech itself that matters; the ideal that no-one can, through laws or the courts, silence anyone else simply because they don’t like what they’re saying. In doing so, they’re upholding free speech rights for all, making sure that no legal precedent is established – no slippery slope embarked upon – that would make it easier for the government to censor any speech it doesn’t like in the future.

Ironically, it’s by defending would-be-fascists’ right to speak openly now that we can best prevent the rise of a fascist government in the future. That’s what the ACLU, Glenn Greenwald and any true civil libertarian all understand.

The above quote has been added to my memorable quotes page.