JEWISH WORLD

JEWISH WORLD • AUGUST 11-17, 2023 11 country in the world for all of its history. That is why the French gave America the Statue of Liberty. It is rapidly relinquishing that title. 3: Free speech is seriously threatened for the first time in American history. 4: The threat to free speech comes entirely from the Left. 5: There is no example in history of the Left attaining power and al- lowing free speech. From the French Revolution to the Russian Revolu- tion to the Maoist takeover of China nation in just 90 minutes. 8. Given that “Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Repub- licans and Republican leaners to support the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information on- line (70% vs. 39%),” the often-stated claim that “there is little difference between the two parties” is false. 9. All tyrannies label dissent “misinformation.” That is what Vladimir Putin’s government labels grown substantially since 2018.” — “Democrats and Demo- cratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Repub- licans and Republican leaners to support the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online (70% vs. 39%). There was virtually no difference between the parties in 2018, but the share of Dem- ocrats who support government intervention has grown from 40% in 2018 to 70% in 2023.” — “A large majority of Demo- crats and Democratic leaners (81%) support technology companies tak- ing such steps, while about half of Republicans (48%) say the same.” H ere are 10 conclusions: 1: The most important hu- man freedom is freedom of speech. Free speech is what makes the pursuit of truth possible. It is what makes the advancement of science possible. It constitutes the very definition of a free society. And free speech is what makes human dignity possible. People who can- not say what they believe are dehu- manized. They ultimately become robotic beings exemplified by North Koreans. 2: America has been the freest to almost any university in America today, wherever the Left comes to power, it suppresses speech. 6: The Left must suppress speech in order to retain power. If it were to allow dissent, it would lose its hold on power. 7: That is why conservative speak- ers are rarely allowed to speak on college campuses. Left-wing profes- sors, deans, and administrators know — consciously or subconsciously — that an effective conservative speaker can undo years of left-wing indoctri- Read It And Weep – Or Fight Democrats value free speech far less than Republicans By DENNIS PRAGER I n case you were in doubt — and if you were in doubt, that means you aren’t following what is happening in America to the most important freedom of all — Pew Research has confirmed that Dem- ocrats value free speech far less than Republicans do. Read the following statistics and conclusions andweep for our country: — “The share of U.S. adults who say the federal government should restrict false information has risen from 39% in 2018 to 55% in 2023.” — “Just over half of Americans (55%) support the U.S. govern- ment taking steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits people from freely publishing or accessing information.” — “Support for government in- tervention has steadily risen since the first time we asked this ques- tion in 2018. In fact, the balance of opinion has tilted: Five years ago, Americans were more inclined to prioritize freedom of information over restricting false information (58% vs. 39%).” — “The partisan gap in support for restricting false information has Free speech constitutes the very de nition of a free society. America has been at the forefront of a free society. PERSPECTIVE continued on page 25 Free speech is what makes human dignity possible. People who cannot say what they believe are dehumanized.