FREE SPEECH IN THE CANCEL CULTURE. [EPISODE 24]

Have you been unfriended on Facebook because you haven't subscribed to the new orthodoxy? Are you amazed when city leaders talk about defunding their police departments? Were you perplexed when the Paramount Network decided to cancel Cops after 31 years? Cancel. Cancel. Cancel.
What is going on in our culture right now is bigger than race or police brutality. We are at a crossroads where we are either going to continue to have free speech or allow the cultural zeitgeist to overwhelm us. In this episode, I make the argument that we must be able to make arguments. We do not have to agree in order to learn from each other and work on issues that ail us. But there is a growing movement that tolerates no dissent from its viewpoint (ironically in the name of championing all viewpoints). This is tragic because if we preempt the discussion and carry out vigilante justice, we are only demonstrating the belief that might makes right and free speech will be an unfortunate casualty.
In this episode I referenced a symposium at Harvard Law. It can be found here: Cancel Culture: Can Free Speech in Cultural Institutions Survive the Onslaught of Moral Outrage? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tVYKfMPbcQ
If you would like to reach out and offer your perspective, correct me if I am wrong, or suggest topics I should address, send me a tweet @daringerdes or leave a video message: https://flipgrid.com/leadersmith