Kerby Anderson
The latest survey done by Pew Research documents that most Americans don’t care about free speech. The share of US adults who say the federal government should restrict false information rose from one-third (38%) in 2018 to more than a majority (55%) this year.
If you dig into the demographics of the survey, you also find that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (70%) are much more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaners (38%) to support the US government restricting information online. It is also worth mentioning that there was virtually no difference between the two parties in 2018.
Dennis Prager adds several conclusions based upon this survey. First, the most important human freedom is freedom of speech. He explains that “free speech is what makes the pursuit of truth possible and makes the advancement of science possible”.
Second, he observes that “America has been the freest country in the world for all of its history.” Unfortunately, this survey illustrates why many of us believe that is changing.
His third and fourth observations fit together. “Free speech is seriously threatened for the first time in American history” and “The threat to free speech comes entirely from the Left.” These observations might sound radical, but I have discussed the basis for them in previous commentaries.
Dennis Prager has documented these observations many times in his writings. He also adds that, “There is no example in history of the Left attaining power and allowing free speech,” and gives numerous historical examples to prove his point.
We should be concerned when a majority of our fellow citizens feel it is appropriate for politicians and bureaucrats to censor what they may deem as false information.