I doubt that anyone today is more committed to preserving our right to speak freely than Greg Lukianoff. Greg would probably disagree, because he’s inherently modest and quick to credit others for his impact in this area, but his work to confront, combat, and condemn the rise of cancel culture in our time is unparalleled. His organization, FIRE, is short for Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, was formed as an alternative (of sorts) to the ACLU. (Speaking only for myself, I love what the ACLU stands for with regard to free speech but feel uncomfortable with many of the eighteen other programs and causes they currently espouse. In contrast, FIRE’s only objective is the vigorous defense of individual expression.)
This is the second time Greg’s been on the podcast, and it won’t be the last. Because, unfortunately, the attempts to silence dissenting views – especially on college campuses – are increasing, and, increasingly alarming. On this episode, Greg and I discuss, among other things, the law students at Stanford University who shouted down a circuit court judge who had been invited to address them, and the professor who encouraged the disruption. It’s a shocking commentary on the state of intolerance in law schools everywhere, and a worrisome quality to ponder, should it come to exist in the next generation of lawyers and judges. We also discuss the idea that “hate speech”, whatever that is, has become the greatest gift to censorship that censors have ever seen. It’s a really good conversation, and you can listen to the whole thing here – https://bit.ly/TWIHI310.