Free speech under threat: Scary Halloween thoughts

“Free speech is not speech you agree with, uttered by someone you admire. It’s speech that you might find stupid, selfish, dangerous, uninformed or threatening, spoken and sponsored by someone you despise, fear or ridicule. Free speech can be unpopular, contentious and sometimes ugly. It reflects a tolerance for differences. If everyone agreed on all things, we wouldn’t need it.” – Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post, 2014

As an American and a professional journalist, I deeply value freedom of speech. I feel fortunate to live in a country in which we all have the right to express our opinions and beliefs on highway billboards and lawn signs as well as in newspapers, blogs, books, magazines, and pamphlets. One of my favorite quotes about freedom of speech is often misattributed to Voltaire, but was written by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, who wrote under the pseudonym, S. G. Tallentyre: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I still remember the MSU journalism professor who reminded my class that one of our greatest freedoms is expressing our viewpoints in a newspaper — without being jailed, censored, or otherwise punished. More than 50 years ago, my first published piece (for which I was paid $25) was an opinion column in The Detroit News. I’ve been sharing my viewpoints and personal experiences in magazines and newspapers ever since.

While I’ve rarely earned an impressive income practicing journalism, I consider my career a privilege and never once took it for granted.

Last week, our country experienced a spine-chilling preview of what happens when our freedom of speech is threatened or tethered. And I’m worried.

By now you’ve read or heard that The Washington Post announced last week that it wouldn’t endorse a presidential candidate in this election — for the first time in 36 years. Prior to that unexpected move, the Post had actually drafted an editorial announcing its decision to endorse presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, pulled the plug before the Harris endorsement could be published, sending shockwaves throughout the paper and the nation. As many point out, the sudden, last-minute decision to withhold an endorsement is more than suspicious.

So far, as reported by The Washington Post, more than 250,000 subscribers have cancelled their subscriptions in protest. Sadly, the Post‘s journalists will suffer the most from this boycott. Some have already left their jobs at the paper. At the same time, I don’t blame the angry subscribers who cancelled and want to express their concerns.

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is also the founder of Amazon and remains its largest individual shareholder. He’s one of the wealthiest CEOs in our nation. Fired up by a strong “Boycott Amazon” movement, scores of consumers, myself included, are pulling our business away from Amazon. From now on, I’m purchasing my books from real bookstores and ordering personal care products from other online delivery services. I can watch films without Amazon Prime. I’m also making a greater effort to shop at local businesses — which will ultimately benefit my community. I doubt this will make a difference to Bezos, but it makes a difference to me.

Happy Halloween! ~Cindy La Ferle