Handle with care

"I think I am on the wrong side of history with this one... I know I am complicitTo be involved with others in an unlawful or morally wrong activity. , I am in the wrong." This might seem like the confession of an unwilling bureaucratAn administrative official who works for the government. in the machinery of an authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. state. Instead, it is the anonymous story of a publisher in the USA.

The author works for a company that produces books for American schools. She warns that publishers are coming under pressure to conform to increasingly restrictive standards set by US states.

She is worried that she is being forced to take part in censoring books. But she cannot speak about it in public, because she would risk being fired and losing her livelihood.

All in all, her supporters say, it is a grim picture for free speech in 21st Century America. More than 4,000 book bans have been implemented in the USA since July 2021.¹ Many of these have targeted books that feature LGBT+ people.

And more restrictive rules are being considered. In FloridaA coastal state in the south-east of the US, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Though nicknamed "the sunshine state", it also experiences phenomenal rainstorms., new legislation would control the pronounsA word referring to a person and functioning as a noun, such as he/him or she/her. While these are the two most common sets of pronouns, some people prefer non-gendered terms like they/them or xe/xyr. that teachers are allowed to use for children and allow parents to stop school libraries from stocking certain books.

The attack on free speech, they warn, is also moving beyond the classroom. Some states have moved to ban dragPerforming exaggerated forms of gender expression, usually as part of an entertainment act. acts. Campaigners say these laws have the added effect of making it illegal for transgender people to live publicly in the gender with which they identify.

Defenders of these laws say they are not about speech at all: they are about ensuring children do not encounter age-inappropriate content. Putting an "18" label on the film is not censorship, they argue, and neither is sheltering children from content regarding sex and relationships.

Some experts say censorship is not the preserve of the right. They are also worried that the left is seeking to silence those they disagree with.

For example, a proposal in Washington StateA state on the north-west Pacific coast of the USA. It is not the same as Washington DC. to set up a hotline allowing people to inform the government about instances of hate speech raised anxieties amongst free speech activists who warn that it could be used to shut down speech that, while offensive, does not break any laws.

Yes: US states are banning books, performances and art, while left-wingers try to get people fired for saying the wrong thing. These are dark times for freedom of expression.

No: People can still write or say whatever they like; they just cannot do it in schools and they cannot say hateful things. On both left and right, this is about protecting vulnerable people, not restricting speech.

Or... While almost everyone agrees that the government should not usually ban speech, there will always be circumstances in which it has to. Truly free speech has never existed and likely would not work.