The continuing collapse of the First Amendment. Do you care?

This nation's leading rescuer of the First Amendment arguing before the Supreme Court, attorney Floyd Abrams, now warns of another rising danger.

Speaking on Oct. 23 at the 15th anniversary of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), he warned the only organization as actively devoted to the First Amendment as he is about the damage to free speech caused by college campuses retracting invitations to public speakers.

"If litigation (as FIRE is doing) is one necessary tactic to deal with such speech-limiting policies, the other is simply exposure of the misconduct, with the attendant public shame that follows the exposure."

What, after all, other than shame, is deserved by Brandeis University for offering and then withdrawing an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirst Ali for her criticism of Islam; by Smith College for withdrawing an invitation to Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMG (International Monetary Fund); by Rutgers, for so embarrassing former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that she declined to appear.

"And just a few weeks ago, George Will's invitation to speak at Scripps College in California was effectively withdrawn after controversy over the invitation. "

Before continuing, I must proudly acknowledge that Floyd Abrams has been my personal First Amendment mentor for decades.He continues with a concern I've written about often here:

"What's going on? It's hard to resist the conclusion that too many of our college students evidently needed high school civics courses since they seem to have no idea what the basic thrust of the First Amendment -- and free expression more broadly -- is all about."

Abrams continues: "And they are not alone. It shows me how many people -- educated people, including scholars -- seem to believe that the First Amendment should be interpreted as nothing but an extension and embodiment of their generally liberal political views."

Floyd then speaks to all of us, not just the audience that evening at the FIRE anniversary. What he says is not being taught in the great majority of our public schools as he quoted Justice Robert Jackson:

"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights is to foreclose public authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind through regulating the press, speech and religion. "

The rest is here:
The continuing collapse of the First Amendment. Do you care?