“To put it bluntly, free speech is under attack. . .” says Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at the Ayn Rand Institute. In this talk and Q&A given at the Heartland Institute in Chicago, Simpson argues that if we want to fight for free speech, we have to fight for the ideals on which it is based. He also discusses topics such as the Danish cartoon crisis, the recent Berkeley riots in response to provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, free speech on college campuses and the government investigation into Exxon.
For those in the Orange County, California area, join the Ayn Rand Institute Saturday, February 25 at Avenue of the Arts Hotel in Costa Mesa for a discussion on the state of the culture and of the Objectivist movement in light of the new administration in Washington, D.C.
Freedom of speech is indispensable to a free and civilized society, yet this precious right is increasingly under attack today. Ayn Rand Institute director of Legal Studies Steve Simpson is in Chicago today to speak at The Heartland Institute on defending free speech.
Two weeks ago, some students and the administration at UCLA School of Law tried to ban my book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism from being displayed at a free-speech panel. (The event was co-sponsored by the Ayn Rand Institute and The Federalist Society; you can read a detailed account in my editorial at The Hill.) Appalled by that incident, I wondered whether this was typical of UCLA, whether the university would explain its actions, whether it cared at all about intellectual freedom.
Over the weekend, The Hill published a new column by Elan Journo, in which he discusses on how UCLA encourages students to be “contemptuous of intellectual freedom.”
"Islamophobia," "meritocracy" and "extremism." These three anti-concepts obliterate clear thinking and shut down thoughtful discussion. Have you unwittingly accepted them into your thinking?
In this video update, Steve Simpson explains what to expect from the two upcoming freedom of speech events at UPenn and UCLA on January 24 and February 1 respectively.
Freedom of speech is a bedrock principle throughout the Western world, but increasingly it is being challenged — on college campuses, among intellectuals and in politics — in the name of preventing “hate” speech or offensive speech or protecting allegedly “marginalized” groups.
On January 7, the second anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack, The Hill published a new column by Steve Simpson, in which he reflects on “the often precarious state of free speech in the world today” and urges us “to consider what the future holds for free speech here in America.” Particularly, Simpson comments on the danger of so-called hate speech laws.
In the two years since Islamic terrorists murdered five cartoonists and seven others associated with the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, the Ayn Rand Institute has vocally and consistently upheld freedom of speech against its attackers. In public lectures, interviews, blog posts and a recent book — plus upcoming events on the same theme — the Institute has challenged individuals around the world to join in defending the right to free speech.
