As she hopes the students will become. Her talk tackles many issues but here’s what she has to say about free speech:
3. To be a founder means to defend freedom of speech.
“Free speech” is not just a slogan. It is a tool that is essential for the free exercise of the mind, for the ability to search for truth. The only way to get to the truth is to have the freedom to think freely and to speak clearly. Without free speech, there is no truth. No innovation. No ability to persuade or take risks or to make new things. Free speech—allowing horrible things or shocking things to be argued—is a radical value and one that has been the foundation for American success.
Free speech also means refusing compelled speech. It means refusing to speak untruths, either about yourself or anyone else, no matter the comfort offered by the mob.
So do not genially accept the lies told to you.
For example: that Abraham Lincoln’s name on a public school or his likeness on a statue is white supremacy. (It is not; he is a hero.) Or that looting has no victims (untrue) and that small-business owners can cope anyway because they have insurance (nonsense). Or that America is evil. (No, it is the last hope on Earth.)
If possible, be public and vocal in rejecting claims you know to be false.
Cowardice is contagious—but so is courage. And your singular example may serve as a means of transmission.
Bari Weiss, “The New Founders America Needs” at Common Sense (July 10, 2022)
Note: Weiss was hired by the New York Times to broaden its perspective a bit but ended up getting driven out when she tried. The Woke very much need an echo chamber, not a debate.
You may also wish to read: New university in Texas, aiming to restore scholarly debate, surviving so far As a counter to Woke Uniquack.