The New York Times published an article on its front page Sunday titled, “How Conservatives Weaponized the First Amendment.”
The worst part? The article isn’t even listed as opinion.
Through a heavy dose a passive voice and selective quotes, the author, Adam Liptak, attempts to turn a partisan view of the Constitution into a mainstream idea — and he fails — miserably.
Essentially, Liptak centers the article on Justice Elena Kagan’s idea that conservatives have suddenly, over the past 15 years or so, used the First Amendment to take power away from the common man — and give it to corporations and donors.
The poorly worded and factually inaccurate argument comes in reaction to the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on free speech in NIFLA v. Becarra and Janus v. AFSCME, which both ruled in favor of “conservative speech,” as Liptak writes; or in other words, the idea that forcing someone to violate their own beliefs is against the the Constitution.
At the core of Liptak’s flawed argument is his failure to acknowledge a crucial idea about the First Amendment: Just because a certain example of speech is protected by the First Amendment doesn’t mean it’s the correct moral use of speech.
The Founders reasoning for the First Amendment isn’t an encouragement for American citizens to act like assholes; it’s to prevent the government from ever gaining ultimate control over what its citizens can and cannot say. If the First Amendment was watered down as Judge Kagan has advocated for, then the government would slowly gain authority over the public’s words and ideas, which would give politicians the power to censor those whom they dislike.
Liptak misses another key idea when he shines light on the fact that the Supreme Court is taking up more cases on the censorship of “conservative speech.”
Progressives hold a significant influence over American culture through academia, Hollywood, and of course, the media, so culturally, conservative ideas are perceived as inferior to liberal ideas. It’s no coincidence or conspiracy that “hateful” and “bigoted” conservative ideas are being increasingly censored in comparison to “tolerant” and “progressive” liberal ideas.
Here, it’s clear that Liptak’s argument that the First Amendment is being “weaponized” by powerful conservatives is the complete opposite of reality. Rather, powerful liberals from college campuses, to public unions are attempting to use government censorship against the common man.
Let’s just hope the New York Times learns that liberty isn’t a weapon, but a blessing that’s the foundation of our nation.