In his masterpiece “1984,” George Orwell wrote about newspeak, the dystopian government’s attempt to reform the language, making opposing views impossible to articulate.
American universities seem to be taking this lesson to heart. With the happy assistance of faculty things like the First Amendment are twisted to mean “you have a right to my opinion”. This mostly goes unquestioned and unchecked until something like the protests at the University of Missouri, (home of the oldest journalism school in the country), where a communications professor, Melissa Click, told a reporter to stop reporting on a public event in a public space. When the reporter refused she called out “I need more muscle here…get this reporter out of here!”.
Ms. Click has since resigned her post at the university, although a fellow professor who seemed to be in complete agreement with suppression, leading chants like “Hey, hey, ho, ho, reporters have got to go” (he also seems to shares an address with Ms. Click), is still on staff at Mizzou.
Nowhere is it written in the First Amendment that you have a right not to be offended. No where are you given the right to create a list of words, phrases or “micro-aggressions” that others have to follow.
I am a First Amendment absolutist. People have the God given right to say stupid things. Which, to me, is essential. I mean, how else are you going to be able to pick out the dumb ones?
Alabama native Scott Stantis is the editorial cartoonist at The Chicago Tribune and a Yellowhammer contributor.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.