Countering the cancel culture: Free expression is not a trend to be trashed

American liberty has always started with freedom of the mind. The Founders had the foresight to compose the First Amendment, which proffers unique protections to expressions emanating from unfettered thought. In this oh-so progressive era, freedom of speech is under assault, and the world’s most creative culture is in danger of falling victim to the so-called cancel culture. Fortunately, the rebellion has begun.

When rules governing moral rectitude are written and then rewritten before the ink dries, murmurings are bound to point out the unfairness of yesterday’s saint being scourged as today’s sinner. Icons of influence numbering beyond a hundred have raised the volume on the spreading displeasure by publishing a July 7 letter in Harper’s magazine upholding the tradition of open debate. Moreover, it rejects the trendy obsession with heaping shame on individuals who refuse to endorse the tweet of the day, and in its most virulent form, with attempting to ruin their lives.

A diverse assemblage of signatories, including such intellectuals as “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, feminism pioneer Gloria Steinem and CNN host Fareed Zakaria, delivered a warning against the mounting pressure of ideological conformity upon the nation’s cultural institutions: “The restriction of debate, whether by a repressive government or an intolerant society, invariably hurts those who lack power and makes everyone less capable of democratic participation. The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away.”