For too long the right to free speech has been undermined by the weak and apologetic intellectual and political leaders of the West — leaders who are more concerned about not offending the assailants than they are about standing up for the victims and their right to speak their minds. And for too long we have seen the results of that appeasement in an endless series of shocking headlines. The senseless slaughter at Charlie Hebdo is just the latest in a long list of death threats and attacks going all the way back to 1989 with the fatwa on Salman Rushdie.

In an effort to provide the American public with some moral clarity and leadership on this important issue, ARI’s executive director, Yaron Brook, will be traveling across the country to give a talk titled “Free Speech and the Battle for Western Culture.” Here’s a description of Yaron’s talk:

Above all else, the West’s fight for liberty was historically a fight for the free mind against religious and political tyranny. If knowledge and happiness are the goal, the individual must be free to think and speak without threat of violence, imprisonment or death. This idea is at the root of the West’s unprecedented prosperity. And without this right, ARI could not advocate the new ideas and the new philosophy that can revive the West’s greatness. But today the right to free speech is precarious. This right is under vehement attack by our enemies, the latest being the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, and is being increasingly dismissed by the West itself. Come hear Yaron Brook explore the reasons why the right to free speech is being attacked and why it is imperative that we properly defend freedom of speech.

When will Yaron talk in a city near you?

• January 13. Refreshments begin at 6:30 PM. Talk begins at 7:00 PM at The Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers in Chicago.
• January 14. Refreshments begin at 7:00 PM. Talk begins at 7:30 PM at CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.
• January 20. Refreshments begin at 7:00 PM. Talk begins at 7:30 PM at the Sheraton Palo Alto in Palo Alto.
• January 21. Doors open at 7:00 pm. Talk begins at 7:30 PM at Hilton Orange County Costa Mesa Hotel, Costa Mesa, CA.

Take the discussion online with #ARIonTour.

Register online. Walk-ins welcome.

The events are FREE for students.