The threat of losing free speech has become frighteningly real these last few years in America. Just last year, an op-ed was published in the New York Times titled “Free Speech Is Killing Us.” The author argued that we should rethink the entire First Amendment because “hate speech” can lead to violence, dictatorship, and even genocide. Other countries like Denmark, Germany, and Norway now have “hate speech” laws where you can get fined or even go to jail for saying the wrong thing or offending someone. The problem is this; what can be constituted as hate speech? Is it anything that someone finds offensive? You can find someone to be offended by every single thing you say nowadays.
It seems like the walls are closing in, and we’ll be entering dangerous territory soon where what we watch, say, and read could all be regulated to a certain extent. Before that happens, you should read these five books (not including the Bible, which should be the first thing you read!).
1. Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
This book has been under attack since the day it came out. First, Amazon tried to suppress it in searches, then Target banned after a single complaint. After pushback from concerned customers, they brought it back. Still, a massive retail corporation was willing to take a book completely off their shelves because ONE person didn’t like it? That’s scary. The author, Abigail Shrier, is a writer for the Wall Street Journal, was objectively curious as to why all of a sudden, we’ve seen such an uptick in young girls coming out as transgender. So she decided to investigate. There was no agenda; she just wanted answers. She interviewed parents across the country of teens who have undergone surgeries and hormone injections and learned that an entire movement influences girls when they really may not be trans at all; they’re just looking to fit in. “Irreversible Damage” begs the question: have we as a society jumped to a catastrophic life-changing conclusion for confused young people?
2. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The story of a white lawyer’s defense of a black man against a false rape charge by a white woman is one of the most challenged books in United States history. The descriptions of rape, sexuality, and the use of the “n-word” has led to several school boards deciding to drop the book from its curriculum entirely. The defense of the book is that it brings up important discussions about race.
3. Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality by Nancy R. Pearcey
The author is a former agnostic who got saved and dives into controversial topics like abortion, transgenderism, and hookup culture, to name a few. This isn’t a book you should just read, but study and memorize thoroughly because it completely demolishes the confusing ideologies you see everywhere today.
4. Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell
You should buy ALL of Thomas Sowell’s books, but this one is especially great because it’s so timely for what we’re going through in this country regarding social justice and race relations. He points out how people warp statistics and why leftists are so stubborn when acknowledging evidence right in front of them.
5. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This was one of my all-time favorite books in high school. I read it multiple times, and in 2012, a year after I graduated, I was ecstatic to see the movie.
In 2009 it was one of the top challenged books for its depictions of sex, masturbation, drugs, and suicide. Chbosky has even written letters to outraged parents saying, “I try to reach out to them to let them understand that I didn’t write this book to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I didn’t write this book to be explicit at all. I wrote this book as a blueprint for healing. I wrote this book to end the silence.”
I think that’s an excellent way to wrap this up. We can’t demand silence about issues or ideas that make us uncomfortable. As a bonus book suggestion, I recommend Trigger Warning: Is The Fear of Being Offensive Killing Free Speech? by Mick Hume.
This should be required reading for high school and college students and lays out several critical philosophical arguments to help you become a machine at defending free speech. Remember that the only rights that genuinely exist for oneself are those you’re willing to endure others having as well.
