The Battle Against Free Speech

Today's letter in the Tulsa World by Tristan Slepter did a great job of highlighting a growing problem for animal protection advocates. A series of intrusive laws coupled with overzealous law enforcement, has created an atmosphere where many of us are afraid to utilize the rights guaranteed to us by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The idea of silencing unwanted speech is not a new one. The First Amendment was adopted in part as a reaction to the British Government's repression of speech. The history of the U.S. is riddled with stories of those who were persecuted for speaking the truth. Those who supported the abolition of slavery and woman suffrage were mercilessly persecuted for exercising their First Amendment rights. If anything, the current level of attention towards our cause should reassure us.

In the past we have seen events where Neo-Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan hold rallies or marches. Very often, there is a significant portion of the community that is quick to jump up and protect the free speech rights of these groups, and yet very few of these people jump in to protect the rights of animal advocates. Again, this should serve to reassure us.

Speech is most likely to be suppressed when it meets two criteria: one, it goes against a well entrenched status quo; and, two, it appears to be right. Galileo ended his life under house arrest not because the Church thought his statements were inaccurate, but because they feared the implications of those statements being correct. This is why so many people can defend the speech of Neo-Nazis, but become deafeningly silent when it comes to animal rights activists. It is easy to see that Neo-Nazis or the Klan are peddling fraudulent ideologies, and most people do not fear being taken in by their arguments.

On the other hand, the health, environmental and humane arguments in favor of veganism are persuasive and backed up by mountains of evidence. It is not hard to believe that on some level many people can see the truth and justice in our arguments. Most people, however, imagine the worst when they think of what life must be like as a vegan. Therefor, the status quo is maintained not by presenting arguments in favor of the way things are now being done, but instead by suppressing those ideas that are found inconvenient.

The answer to this whole problem is for us to work harder as activists. These laws suppressing speech are a signal to us that we are gaining traction and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The best argument now left to the other side is that it is not fair for us to present the truth to the public. We live live in a democracy where our speech rights are allegedly protected, and I would predict the arguments in favor of suppressing speech will not last long. Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts.