Many people are wondering how so many young (and not so young) people involved in recently documented programs of viewpoint censorship at Twitter and other social media platforms, came to view intellectual suppression as a positive, legitimate and acceptable response to the expression of disparate opinions, analyses, ideas, and even observed data.
In Addressing the Real Crisis of Free Expression on Campus, a white paper published by Washington D.C.’s Newseum Institute (The First Amendment Center), Jeffrey Herbst writes:
"College campuses should be bastions of free speech. Today, they often seem to be the very places in American society where there is the least tolerance for controversial ideas.”
He believes that the key to improving the situation lies in taking the time to discuss intellectual freedom issues with younger students.
"Elementary and secondary schools must educate students on the First Amendment, how far the right of free expression extends, and the opportunities it affords to those who want to change society. Students carry attitudes with them to college so we must address young people when their views on free speech are first being formed.”
I would amend Herbst’s emphasis on schools as the the starting point for discussions of intellectual freedom, to include and prioritize learning about the First Amendment at home, within family and friend groups, in the context of life. I would also add that free expression isn’t only a tool for “changing society” by legitimately addressing that which is unjust or inefficient or empty convention, but also resisting those who would impose changes making the claim of justice, inefficiency or empty convention in pursuing merely a self-serving or preferred outcome, by self-serving or preferred means.
But teach the children we must. Attempts to censor and suppress have been with us as long as there has been language, with tightenings and loosenings of centralized control of the “public square” depending on technological and political situations. The centralized control of vast sprawling social media platforms has created a new force which is easily able to suppress the disliked perspectives of those in control, manufacture an illusion of consensus, discourage dissent, and in the process heavily distort the knowledge development process and the pursuit of clarity.
Claims that censorship can be “good” stem from what I believe to be invalid arguments for special elastic categories of speech for which censorship is valid including “misinformation”, “hate speech” and “dangerous speech”. See former ACLU organizer Nadine Strossen’s book, HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship, for a thorough taking apart of that view.
Some make the argument in good, if not very examined, faith, and some make it out of expediency and self-interest. It is an argument which I explore and ultimately reject in the Ninja Librarians books, a series for young people which explores those dynamics in the midst of a fantasy adventure.
The series explores (and will continue to explore)
The difference between freely choosing not to express a held viewpoint and being coerced into silence.
The various ways in which individuals or groups may be coerced into silence.
The costs to individuals and to society when we don’t value and protect intellectual freedom.
The difficulty of supporting the right of others to express themselves when we believe their opinions or ideas to be dangerous, wrong or hurtful.
The potential rewards of not just tolerating the speech of others, but valuing it as a potential means of testing our assumptions for flaws & refining our viewpoints.
You can get the books out of many libraries, or you can buy them. There’s an audiobook of the second, but not the first. I’m working on that. If you find better books that try to make intellectual freedom’s purpose and benefits come alive, then get those too, or instead, and tell me what you found! Here is a snippet of a review of “Sword in the Stacks” which appeared on the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom blog:
"The concept of intellectual freedom is a driving point for the narrative and provides an extraordinary teaching point for readers of any age...There is a great sense of adventure and mystery plus a good deal of humor which will appeal to many young readers. Any history buff or library lover will get a kick out of the premise and the deeper meaning regarding the importance of libraries and intellectual freedom makes this a notable new release.”
I wrote these books to entertain the hell out of kids the way I would have wanted to be entertained as a twelve year old, to cultivate the courage to speak as well as the courage to let others speak, and to invite young people to see intellectual freedom as an adventure worth having. The more the seriously merrier. Those who grow up without being taught the benefits of intellectual freedom, or the cost of its suppression, run the risk of growing up arrogant and ignorant enough to embrace censorship, and fancy themselves deserving of the crown of censor.
Such a wonderful, entertaining series. Great characters. Great adventures. A fun and often funny way for kids to ponder ideas of intellectual freedom with historical figures. And a great way for kids to remind their parents, who may have forgotten, that free speech, free thought, is essential to a life worth living.