CPUd
01-22-2017, 07:13 PM
Trump must support free speech
A culture of free speech means sitting down at the table and rolling up your sleeves. This week, that's exactly what I did. In an effort to be part of a constructive dialogue about the issues facing this great nation, I sat down with the Trump transition team to discuss how the incoming administration plans to protect the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment.
President-elect Trump has made some shocking statements in the past related to these rights, but I left the meeting feeling hopeful for the future protection of open dialogue and support for the First Amendment. Let's hope that optimism holds true when Trump is in office.
The First Amendment is part of what makes the country great by ensuring freedom of religion, expression, press, and the right to petition. However, simply paying lip service to the First Amendment won't suffice. Elected officials and public policies must embody free speech.
Without a culture of free speech, we would lack technological and social advancements, and our elected officials wouldn't be accountable for their actions. Now more than ever, these principles must be upheld.
In an effort to establish a coalition of liberty-minded Americans, the incoming administration opened their eyes and ears to our concerns by bringing blocs of young Americans to the table. We didn't talk parties or personalities, we presented issues and solutions. The meeting highlighted the very policy topics that millennials care about.
As president of Young Americans for Liberty, the nation's largest pro-liberty youth organization, I let the Trump transition team know how important the national Fight for Free Speech campaign is to young people and to our Constitutional republic.
They listened. That's one of our greatest ideals as a country: fostering open debate and dialogue about even the most unsavory of topics.
Free speech is under attack, specifically on college campuses and in the press.
YAL has college chapters on 804 campuses throughout the United States. 125 of our chapters are organizing on campuses with restrictive, unconstitutional speech codes. These are taxpayer-funded, public universities, not private institutions, places expected to be a bastion for free speech just a few years ago.
Speech suppression has encroached on many aspects of American life. You can thank hypersensitivity, a lack of Constitutional appreciation, and polarization for this anti-democratic phenomena.
Trump isn't immune to it.
He has a history of suggesting speech restrictions that would legitimately undermine the First Amendment. Trump once tweeted that individuals who burn the American flag should go to jail. He's advocated for the stronger libel laws against media outlets that report negatively on figures like himself. Trump is known for his clickbait-worthy statements that don't always ring true to his policy decisions, but when someone in his position suggests that the First Amendment provides "too much protection," I get concerned.
However, that was candidate-Trump. Soon it will be President Trump, and his transition team sought out a coalition of young minds to bring in new ideas into the administration. That's a good sign, and I applaud them for hosting us.
Part of my job as a citizen and as the president of YAL is to advocate for a better tomorrow, and that means holding our elected officials, including Trump, accountable. As Trump takes the White House, we will remain vigilant to ensure the new administration respects and embraces the First Amendment.
Regardless of your political ideology, you should too.
Cliff Maloney, Jr. is president of Young Americans for Liberty.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-must-support-free-speech/article/2612372#.WITOnInvxdc.twitter
A culture of free speech means sitting down at the table and rolling up your sleeves. This week, that's exactly what I did. In an effort to be part of a constructive dialogue about the issues facing this great nation, I sat down with the Trump transition team to discuss how the incoming administration plans to protect the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment.
President-elect Trump has made some shocking statements in the past related to these rights, but I left the meeting feeling hopeful for the future protection of open dialogue and support for the First Amendment. Let's hope that optimism holds true when Trump is in office.
The First Amendment is part of what makes the country great by ensuring freedom of religion, expression, press, and the right to petition. However, simply paying lip service to the First Amendment won't suffice. Elected officials and public policies must embody free speech.
Without a culture of free speech, we would lack technological and social advancements, and our elected officials wouldn't be accountable for their actions. Now more than ever, these principles must be upheld.
In an effort to establish a coalition of liberty-minded Americans, the incoming administration opened their eyes and ears to our concerns by bringing blocs of young Americans to the table. We didn't talk parties or personalities, we presented issues and solutions. The meeting highlighted the very policy topics that millennials care about.
As president of Young Americans for Liberty, the nation's largest pro-liberty youth organization, I let the Trump transition team know how important the national Fight for Free Speech campaign is to young people and to our Constitutional republic.
They listened. That's one of our greatest ideals as a country: fostering open debate and dialogue about even the most unsavory of topics.
Free speech is under attack, specifically on college campuses and in the press.
YAL has college chapters on 804 campuses throughout the United States. 125 of our chapters are organizing on campuses with restrictive, unconstitutional speech codes. These are taxpayer-funded, public universities, not private institutions, places expected to be a bastion for free speech just a few years ago.
Speech suppression has encroached on many aspects of American life. You can thank hypersensitivity, a lack of Constitutional appreciation, and polarization for this anti-democratic phenomena.
Trump isn't immune to it.
He has a history of suggesting speech restrictions that would legitimately undermine the First Amendment. Trump once tweeted that individuals who burn the American flag should go to jail. He's advocated for the stronger libel laws against media outlets that report negatively on figures like himself. Trump is known for his clickbait-worthy statements that don't always ring true to his policy decisions, but when someone in his position suggests that the First Amendment provides "too much protection," I get concerned.
However, that was candidate-Trump. Soon it will be President Trump, and his transition team sought out a coalition of young minds to bring in new ideas into the administration. That's a good sign, and I applaud them for hosting us.
Part of my job as a citizen and as the president of YAL is to advocate for a better tomorrow, and that means holding our elected officials, including Trump, accountable. As Trump takes the White House, we will remain vigilant to ensure the new administration respects and embraces the First Amendment.
Regardless of your political ideology, you should too.
Cliff Maloney, Jr. is president of Young Americans for Liberty.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-must-support-free-speech/article/2612372#.WITOnInvxdc.twitter