I wish every student on campus could have seen this; gay, straight, black, white, Hispanic, Asian. Everyone. I am not in a minority group, unless we can still consider women as a minority, which maybe we can in some instances (though, thank God, I think that generation is dying off). Never have I felt so lucky and full of opportunity during my years at a university. Jonathan Rauch, a well known journalist, activist and writer of “Kindly Inquisitors” came to lecture in my First Amendment class Tuesday. Never have I felt so enlightened, free from ignorance and more eager to share this with every single person on this campus, hell every person in the United States, if my opinion could reach that far, maybe even the world. This topic is not an easy one, in fact it is one with very blurry lines. It is the topic of free speech with regard to minorities and hate speech. Jonathan Rauch asked us what lines should be drawn? Should we have laws and speech codes that prohibit hateful speech? Rauch, an open homosexual, says no. Before you get extremely alarmed and confused by his answer, you should hear his argument, which is incredibly strong and in my view, unwavering. At the beginning of his lecture I answered, “Of course we should,” as I believe that everyone, no matter who they are, deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin at all times. And if law needs to be the means in which we make sure that’s the case, then so be it. But throughout his lecture, in which I cried, had goose bumps almost the entire time and actually felt my mind being changed for the better, my answer changed.
Jonathan explained to us that growing up in a time when being gay was an extreme taboo, he realized placing laws to stop hate-speech is not the real way to make progress. The way to get it done is by changing the culture, by changing the moral knowledge of our country. The rest will eventually take care of itself. To illustrate this point he asked the class if we had ever heard of a man named Frank Kameny, which unfortunately, none of us had. Frank Kameny was an extraordinary man. In the late 1950s, after serving for our United States military, teaching astronomy at Georgetown University and finally being employed by the United States Army Map Service, Kameny was fired from his government employment because he was gay. This was a time where being gay was crazy and completely unacceptable. Instead of walking away in shame, Kameny fought.
He became the first man to file a gay rights brief before the Supreme Court stating something along the lines of, “I served my country fighting tyranny in Europe only to come home and find that I have to fight tyranny here.” His case was shot down. But he kept on fighting and pushing the movement forward. Rauch then told us that Kameny was able to live to receive a public apology from the same Office of Personnel Management who had fired him in the past. And guess what? The director who apologized to him, John Berry, is gay. Kameny also lived long enough to be seated next to President Barack Obama as he signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act. Kameny was able to see all the progress he made with his voice, with his opinion, with his valid and strong arguments. His arguments appeared strong not only because they were, but because the opposition’s arguments were so terrible and so easy to knock down. Why should someone get fired for his or her sexual orientation? Well, there’s really no logic to this at all of course.
Rauch said prohibiting hateful speech would not have been the flame to ignite this movement. The stupidity present in the hateful speech was perhaps part of what ignited the flame. It was part of the flame able to push Kameny into fighting for what was right. Now, I’m not saying all hateful speech should be protected. What I am saying is this viewpoint on freedom of speech should be considered to its full effect, even when it’s hard to determine because situations can be so personal to us. If we had laws in the United States prohibiting freedom of speech, perhaps sometimes peoples’ feelings would be spared. But would there be progress? Maybe there would be, but isn’t it better to change these horrible moral ideas rather than just trying to deter them? The point is to get to the root of the problem. As Rauch said, it is a matter of fixing the culture, not just putting restraints on it. That is why pushing your opinions on others is so important. That is why making people feel uncomfortable is sometimes necessary.
Do you think everyone feels comfortable talking about gay rights? Probably not. But the issue should be talked about so it can become normalized in our culture and these people can feel comfortable in their own skin. We are seeing so much progress in our country and it is as a result of this discourse that has taken place.
It is because of these ignorant ideas that gays don’t deserve the same marriage rights or “God hates gays” that people like Kameny, people who make change, can push it the other way by showing that love is so much stronger than hate.
What do you think about free speech? Do you agree or disagree about the role of discourse in progress? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
