This week, the Norwegian parliament announced an amendment to their penal codes, threatening jail time for those who make comments deemed “hateful” towards trans or bisexual individuals. According to Reuters, “people found guilty of hate speech face a fine or up to a year in jail for private remarks, and a maximum of three years in jail for public comments.”
Norway isn’t alone in threatening jail time for offensive speech. Far from it. Across the globe, free speech is wilting under the oppressive rule of governments intent on prioritizing political correctness and woke culture over freedom.
In England, a comedian was arrested and convicted after making a “tasteless” joke in videos featuring his dog.
In Germany, dozens of police raids have been conducted against those accused of making “hateful” comments on social media.
In Australia, a pregnant mother was forcibly taken from her home by police after making a Facebook post criticizing COVID-19 lockdowns.
Make no mistake about it, America is next.
It’s tempting to assume that our nation — founded on the idea that humans should be free from the oppressive overreach of government — will forever stand firm as a bastion of free speech and beacon of individual liberty for the world. Take a look at the state of free speech here, and the degree to which the Left despises it, and you’ll see how naive that assumption would be.
We already know what the playbook looks like, and we’ve already seen the groundwork being laid. It starts with convincing Americans free speech is not a freedom to cherish, but a burden to endure.
This part of the plan is already well underway, with leftist-dominated media and academia convincing the country, especially younger generations who often drive social change, that mean words are not just words, but violence. An overwhelming majority (81%) of college students now say words are tantamount to violence. And a perpetrator of violence, even “verbal violence,” must be held accountable, right?
Many young Americans agree. A recent survey found 47% of 18-34 year olds support jail time for those uttering “hate speech” and another 59% say the First Amendment should be altered to include hate speech restrictions and better reflect “the cultural norms of today.”
Next comes the assault (both physical and metaphorical) on anyone who dares to oppose restrictions on speech. The goal of this part of the plan is to scare potential defenders of speech into submission by making an example of those who do speak out.
You don’t support punishing those who question whether a trans woman is a woman? You must be pro-hate speech! You won’t abide by mandatory pronoun laws? You must be a bigot!
When this tactic is implemented correctly, average citizens become afraid of speaking out for fear of punishment at work or in their personal lives. If this part of their plan sounds familiar, it’s because you’re living it right now. It’s Cancel Culture.
Rather than risk societal retribution and the “intolerant bigot” label, the very people meant to defend free speech often end up silent in their fear, or even worse, actively anti-speech. Take the ACLU, once a fearless defender of free speech, now publicly questioning “whether a dogged commitment to free speech” was “still the best strategy for an organization pursuing social justice.”
The ACLU was praised for this statement, hailed by the Left as compassionate and forward thinking. That’s part of their plan: praising as virtuous and tolerant, anyone who supports measures that purport to keep “protected classes” from facing hurtful words. The goal is to create a clear contrast between the treatment of those in support and those in opposition, so when the time comes to choose a side, the choice is easy.
Side with the Left and be hailed by the media, Hollywood and academia as a hero, receiving endless pats on the back for your courageous stand against “bigotry.” Or side with free speech, and be scolded, and ostracized, forever labeled a bigot.
The final step in the left’s plan is the leap from societal to legal enforcement of speech — though that leap is more of a skip when society is already receptive to the stifling of speech — and it’s coming.
Last year in Massachusetts for example, State Rep. Daniel Hunt (D) proposed a bill which would impose a $200 fine and up to six months in prison for those who used the word “bitch” in a derogatory manner.
Silly proposals like this will soon give way to more serious legislation aimed at curtailing “hate speech.” Once the groundwork has been laid, and enough Americans agree that certain words are violence and have no place in a civilized society, the anti-speech laws will come. The question is, will anyone stand up to fight it?
It won’t be easy. Those who step in the breach in defense of free speech will be pilloried and face the worst that cancel culture can conjure. They will be labeled intolerant bigots, defenders of hate speech, and worse. They will face social ostracization and the constant fear of professional consequences. But it must be done. If America doesn’t stand up, free speech will no longer have a place to call home.
Cabot Phillips is Managing Editor of the Daily Wire’s Readers Pass. Follow him on Twitter at @cabot_phillips
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.