The Left’s War On Free Speech
I don’t often watch Bill O’Reilly, but this segment with a liberal activist who wants to do away with the word “illegal” as it is used in reference to illegal immigrants was interesting.
“The ‘i’ word is racist,” Monica Novoa declares. “The first thing we need to do is put human beings at the center of the conversation – an undocumented worker should be allowed to move about in a way that will allow them to provide for their families.”
I actually don’t entirely disagree with that last sentiment. I think America would be better served, both economically and in terms of the problems with our southern border, if we made it easier to immigrate to America legally (though it’s worth noting that some scholars believe that net illegal immigration has actually reversed thanks to our poor economy). But is the term “illegal immigrant” racist? Of course not. Agree with the policy or not, it is presently illegal for people of any ethnicity to come into America outside of the official immigration channels.
The term isn’t racist. It’s accurate.
I’m less concerned about the illegal immigration debate than I am with the left’s efforts to control free speech through political correctness. Whether it’s trying to shape political outcomes by declaring a term like “illegal immigrant” off limits, or attempting to silence controversial speech by decrying it as “bullying,” they want to win political debates not with the truth but through the selective censorship of their opponents.
They want to win not with fact, logic and reason but by setting down guidelines controlling what we can say, and what we can think.
It’s downright Orwellian.
Tags: free speech, illegal immigration
