Trump’s Executive Order On Free Speech at Universities Seems to Aim for the Imposition of Speech at Universities

Last updated on: March 23, 2019 at 3:38 am by Henry Karlson

Trump’s Executive Order On Free Speech at Universities Seems to Aim for the Imposition of Speech at Universities 2019-03-23T03:38:29-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Orders January 2017 / WikimediaCommons

Religious liberty is important. We are to be given the freedom to worship, or not worship, God (or a multitude of gods) as we please, without any external force imposing upon us a limit to our worship. This means that the state should not impose an undue burden upon us and try to suggest a particular form of worship as acceptable, regulating and denigrating other forms of worship. There is, of course, a limit: society has the right and duty to protect itself from evil, corrupt ideologies which would harm people under the guise of religion. The state can and must step in if a particular religion promotes human sacrifice and turns deadly, violating the common good. It is not a violation of religious liberty to restrict such evils, for it is a violation of the principles of religion itself to promote such evils.

Likewise, free speech is important. We should have the freedom to speak our mind without any governmental imposition upon us. The government should not enforce a particular ideology, a particular form of speech. Nonetheless, as with religious liberty, so we find there must be limits to what can be said. Various forms of life (such as slander and libel), inciting violence, or other crimes not only can be silenced, but when the common good is threatened by them, must be silenced. This is not in violation of free speech, but rather, it is the foundation by which such speech can exist. Willful deception breaks down communication, which is what speech entails, even as promotion of violence is about silencing the basic rights of others. Toleration is important, but support of intolerance cannot be had in the name of toleration, and support of words which act contrary to the meaning and intention of speech cannot be had in the name of free speech.

Moreover, religious liberty does not mean that a particular worshiper can enter the worship space of another and violate it as a part of their freedom, even as free speech does not mean anyone can just go anywhere they want and speak freely, even if they enter the space of another. For free speech to exist, it must exist within its proper bounds. Government should not impose upon others the acceptance of a particular form of speech so long as those bounds are met. This is why government must not tell universities that they should open themselves up to speech which runs contrary to the rules and dictates of academia, letting anyone unqualified to speak at whatever function they want to speak at, nor allowing those who might have some qualification to speak in ways which run contrary to the common good (of the university, and of society as a whole). Government must not interfere with academia so long as the common good is preserved; it must not force acceptance of the unacceptable under the name of “free speech”: flat earthers, anti-evolutionists, racist demagogues, those promoting torture or extreme violence, and other such ideologies are unacceptable in a university setting and universities must not be told to accept such speech. To do so is to act contrary to the dictates of free speech itself, for it then demonstrates governmental imposition on what is or is not being said, and it is using its power, moreover, to inflict upon society ideologies which run contrary to society as a whole.

This is why those who are promoting the message that universities are somehow limiting free speech due to “political correctness,” are using the term “free speech” in a way which runs contrary to its meaning in a way to promote the destruction of free speech. While Donald Trump’s executive order concerning “free speech,” might not, on paper, reflect a major change, the ideological intention behind it is to impose upon universities the need to promote speech which runs contrary to the nature of the university itself, and in doing so, run contrary to the whole point of free speech itself. For what Trump and his allies want is for universities to welcome a particular ideology which had otherwise been long banished from the academic scene. When the government demands a particular speech being granted a voice at a private institution, liberty is itself threatened. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the same people who think they are being unjustly silenced at universities, because of the dangerous falsehoods they promote, are often the very ones who seek to limit and silence those who exercise true academic freedom at universities by making lists of those figures they think should be silenced. How many of them speak up for professors who are demoted or lose their jobs because they said something challenging to them? How many of them, instead, gloat at the harm being done to academic freedom and true free speech?

Freedom of speech is an important liberty. But like all liberties, some can try to take it up and turn it inside-out and upside-down, so that what comes out is not freedom of speech but the imposition of a particular loathsome ideology by the government. When academic freedom, and free speech, is truly infringed upon by universities, there can be and should be a remedy; but we must not fool ourselves in thinking this is what Donald Trump and his allies want. They do not want free speech at college campuses. They want, rather, to use their supposed promotion of free speech as a trojan horse to promote, with government authority, ideologies which have long been rejected because of the danger they bring to a free society. Demanding universities to allow anyone who wants to speak undermines not only what a university is about (and so an undermining of education), it undermines the whole point of free speech itself.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook

Previous Post

March 21, 2019

Lust

Next Post

March 25, 2019 Sloth and Accidie

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz