The global gag on free speech is tightening
This article focuses on government gags on free speech, which is a real problem globally, but here in the United States I see free speech coming under attack from the progressive left constituency, rather than the government. To me it appears that the far left has abandoned the classical definitions of the word &#x27;liberal&#x27; for populism and extremism. This seems to have been amplified in the last few years, since Trump&#x27;s election, and you see it in things like the social justice warrior meme mocking &#x27;free speech&#x27; with the purposely misspelling &#x27;freeze peach&#x27;.<p>Leaving aside culture wars waged by individuals, I see institutional tightening on free speech all over America. I see it in big tech companies, where only a progressive monoculture exists with no psychological safety for other viewpoints. I see it in censorship applied by defacto digital public squares like YouTube. I see it in the left&#x27;s rampant use of deplatforming to silence opposing views. Increasingly, I also see it in universities (see this incident at the University of Washington today <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cliffmass.blogspot.com&#x2F;2019&#x2F;10&#x2F;the-university-of-washington-should-not.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cliffmass.blogspot.com&#x2F;2019&#x2F;10&#x2F;the-university-of-was...</a>).<p>I don&#x27;t think it matters greatly whether it is the government or others. Free speech is a fundamental good that must be protected. I hope a greater focus is brought on these other means via which it has come under attack.