June 10, 2009
· Filed under Basic Decency, Culture War, Insanity · Tagged controversy, debate, depressing, douchebaggery, entirely uncalled for, FIRE, First Amendment, free speech, Liberty University, morality war, real america, religion, republican party, stupidity, wtf
In his last post, Tim makes a number of legitimate points, but seems to have missed the last couple of paragraphs of my original post:
Admittedly, their right to freedom of association does cover their right to be total dicks. Undoubtedly, the fact that they are on private property shields them from the righteous fury of First Amendment scholars everywhere. However, that doesn’t preclude me from: 1. exposing them as total dicks; 2. urgings others to do so; and, most importantly, 3. calling for their tax-exempt status to be rescinded.
I’d take issue with anyone who said otherwise (imagine what would happen if we had to let the Klan into shabbos services!). I suppose this would be a more serious matter if “Liberty” “University” faced any other destiny than to embarrass itself into irrelevancy and oblivion.
However, since I think it’s fun to play with ideas (even those with which I disagree), let’s explore some forum analysis.
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June 4, 2009
· Filed under Basic Decency, Culture War · Tagged free speech, Leonard Law, Liberty University
For those who don’t know, the Leonard Law provides the same First Amendment rights to students at private universities as those who attend public universities. This has ensured an expansion of free speech rights throughout California at private universities while nonetheless allowing them to maintain a modicum of dominion over school policies et cetera. Organizations, including the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, seem rightly pleased with the law as it allows for them to go after universities which violate the rights of their students.
Yet the law brings up an important issue: doesn’t the law violate the rights of association of California private schools just as much as forcing Liberty University to recognize the College Democrats would? No such action taken by a California private school would be countenanced under that law. And though it does provide an exception for religious schools, why should only religious schools be exempted if the institutional rights issue at hand is over the expressive mission of the university? Once you get to this point, you’re essentially forced to make concession after concession until the law means nearly nothing at all.
One wonders, then, why those who so vehemently hail the right to private property and instituational rights of association would possibly support the Leonard Law, no matter how much they support free speech otherwise.
condron.us
June 3, 2009
· Filed under Basic Decency, Culture War, Insanity · Tagged Basic Decency, democratic party, depressing, douchebaggery, free speech, ideology, Liberty University, morality war, right of association, secessionland, social conservatism, stupidity, wtf
An Open Letter to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
I was disappointed to discover FIRE’s rather relaxed stance on the infringements on the rights of the Liberty University young Democrats. As a long-time supporter of FIRE, soon-to-be-intern, and free speech absolutist, I was surprised to see that FIRE seemed to view Liberty University’s blatant admission of its willingness to abridge basic rights of students as somehow ameliorating its conduct.
I was surprised not only because I so frequently see my own views espoused by FIRE, but also because of what I had read in the Guide to Free Speech on Campus, in which a number of passages had led me to assume that such blatantly undemocratic conduct would not go without excoriating denouncement by FIRE.
First, FIRE declares that “freedom and moral responsibility for the exercise of one’s freedom are ways of being human” (FIRE Guide to Free Speech on Campus, 2). One would assume that openly admitting to one’s atrocities would make them no less acceptable, especially when the things upon which the ironically-named Liberty U. infringes go to the very essence of its students’ humanity.
In fact, only a few pages later you urge students to make both philosophical as well as legal arguments in favor of their free speech rights — noting John Stewart Mill’s essay, On Liberty. Interestingly, I had to read that same essay this past year for one of my courses, and both enjoyed and agreed with it thoroughly. In that essay, Mill makes a number of convincing arguments. None of them, however, have anything to do with whether the government, or individual (interestingly, Mill — along with Tocqueville — was one of the first to identify possible harm to individual rights coming from non-governmental sources, such as society and other individuals) is blatant or covert in its attempt to abridge the rights of those whose rights it wishes to abridge. In fact, one imagines that would make it only more nefarious. If, then, free speech rights are about, well, rights — not, instead, the status of the institution — then why isn’t FIRE raising Hell about this?
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