What happened to free speech?

Former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar wrote in 2010: "The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world's future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others." We talk so much about free speech. We expect it. We demand it. But do we ever ask how we came to receive it? Or what it means? Why do we in the West have free speech when it is not available to the vast majority of people on this planet?

Free speech, the idea of it -- just the idea -- came into our world consciousness about 3500 years ago as part of the ethic that was revealed at Mount Sinai. Our ethic, today. But it was during the time of the prophet Jeremiah, approximately 2600 years ago, that we were reminded of the importance of free speech and the need to protect the messenger from those who wished to prevent the missive from being shared. I have great trouble believing that we are living in a world where the idea of killing the messenger still prevails. And I am not talking about the usual suspects, the Muslim countries; Russia; China; North Korea. I am talking about the West. Jeremiah preached at a time when Israel was faltering, when idolatry made another appearance and child sacrifice re-emerged. Jeremiah was preaching far and wide to return to Torah. He was sharing the message of God: return to the ethic. It didn't go well. The people were not happy with Jeremiah's words. And the people called for his death. "This man deserves to die. He has been prophesying against the city-you have heard him with your own ears," they said to the authorities. The authorities knew better. "This man does not deserve to die; he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God." The elders reminded the people that one does not kill another over words. They recounted the story of Micah of Moresheth who had prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah. He had told all the people of Judah that this was the word of the Lord of hosts:

"Zion shall be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, The Temple-hill a mere wooded height."

---

He was not put to death. To kill him would have been to bring evil on the people. Micah had been saved. And now Jeremiah. Freedom of speech was reinforced. And here we are in the 21^st century and we are facing attacks on freedom of speech. Most of them from the "progressive" left. I don't know how it is that the left became "progressive," but there is nothing progressive about attacking free speech. I have lost track of the number of speakers who are shouted down by "progressive" forces on campus. It seems free speech is only free if you agree with the left-wing agenda on so many campuses today. In Britain " ...never have the university authorities been so complicit in allowing the free exchange of ideas to be closed down." This from Haaretz a well-known left wing outlet. December 2015, Conor Friedersdorf wrote about American campus life in the Atlantic:

"But I see some of these well-intentioned young people undermining the First Amendment; spitting on people with whom they disagree; using stigma and "call out" culture rather than persuasion against non-bigoted speech; physically intimidating members of the press; bullying students who disagree with them; shredding newspapers because they disagree with an article; and calling for dissent to be punished."

In Germany and Sweden we have seen the attempts to prevent freedom of speech for fear of offending people from other cultures. Swedish journalists have edited their reports on refugee rapes and the police do not mention skin colour or ethnicity. "Stockholm's Chief Press Officer had written that the police might be perceived as racist, and therefore should not report physical descriptions to the public. Ironically, it is journalists who have more or less forced the police to stop using descriptions such as skin color, by labeling the police "racist" every time a person of color appears on a wanted list." German authorities attempted to keep quiet the rapes and assaults that took place New Year's Eve. "The news took four days to get out. Inexplicably, Cologne's police initially reported "relaxed" festivities. (On January 8th Wolfgang Albers, the local police chief, was suspended for this and other failings.) The public news networks were also slow to pick up the story, providing grist for the conspiracy mills of populists who denounce the mainstream media as a politically correct 'liars' press.'" http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21688418-ultimate-victim-sexual-assaults-migrants-could-be-angela-merkels-liberal-refugee Our Culture is under attack from people who live by a different Culture, with a different ethic; one that is diametrically opposed to ours and we are being bullied into silence for fear of offending, of being accused of racism or Islamophobia. Offending is part of our Culture because we have free speech. Not hate speech or speech that incites hate, but the right to speak to truth -- no matter whom it offends. And the operative word here is TRUTH as in facts. Let's take back our freedoms from those who wish to whittle them away. Let's stand up for Western Culture; the one that protects freedom to speak. Let us remember the messages form our world leaders who stood up for Western Culture and now are missing in action. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, recently lamented (2014): "For too long we have been self-conscious and even ashamed about British identity. By embracing multiculturalism and the idea that every culture and belief is of equal value, we have betrayed our own traditions of welcoming strangers to our shore. Multiculturalism ... has led to [honor] killings ... and Sharia law. In September 2104 David Cameron, Prime Minister of Great Britain, stated this: "We are an open, tolerant and free nation. But we cannot stand by and allow our openness to be confused with a tolerance of extremism. Adhering to British values is not an option or a choice; it is a duty for those who live in these islands. It is only by standing up for these values that we will defeat extremism, protect our way of life and keep all our people safe." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, in 2010, "We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity--that is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here." In 2013 Charles, the Prince of Wales, cautioned that Christian communities that trace their history back to the time of Jesus are under threat. "We all lose something immensely and irreplaceably precious when such a rich tradition dating back 2,000 years begins to disappear."