New Threats to Freedom by Rebecca Bryan

This past semester, I took Biblical Perspective on Current Events at Delmarva Christian High School. This class taught me to use a critical eye when evaluating controversial issues within the news. It also taught me to find Biblical support for my opinions. If I was questioning a certain topic, I learned to use the Bible to find truth. The subjects we discussed ranged from physician assisted suicide to the Bible in politics, to responding to Wikileaks and the releases of classified materials. This class has led me to research topics that continue to invade the news and to form my own opinion based on the Bible, rather than just how I feel.

Recently, Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), posted a video concerning censorship on college campuses, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEyZE42nDZU. He argues that the more colleges censor speech, the more our rights will be taken from us. The most interesting statement in his video was, “One of the great harms of speech codes on campus censorship is that it leaves students with the false impression that censorship is what good compassionate people do.”

Many people do not want to offend others or cause strife over issues that aren’t “important”. Instead, people avoid or breeze over topics that are controversial, never truly taking a stand against injustices. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 says “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful…. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” These verses explain that moderation is better than forcing beliefs or avoiding debates. In context, everything that happened was lawful, but it also hurt other people. I understand this text to say we need to think before we speak, and to think about how we speak; when and what would be profitable to say. When people stand in the street screaming “You are going to Hell!” they don’t usually have many converts. But if someone talks to people and brings up God explaining His love, in a nonabrasive way, the message will go further and possibly bring that person to church. The manner in which things are done is what is important.

In the case of college censorship, I believe that it is against our First Amendment rights. We are granted freedom of speech in the Bill of Rights. By censoring speech on college campuses, young adults are held back from learning how to truly argue a point by expressing their beliefs and will eventually learn to be silent. Lukianoff said that freedom of speech trickles down into every right we hold. If that right is taken away, then the rest will cease to exist. Though it sounds frightening and like a science fiction novel, the prospect of losing the right to freedom of speech is coming quickly. If young adults entering college learn how to express their beliefs as well as understand the balance between forcefulness and apathy, speech codes on college campuses will lessen and speech will continue to be free.