free speech and private organizations

This is really a rant today because I am getting very frustrated by so many groups criticizing private organizations for exercising free speech, or allowing others to exercise free speech on their premises. Conservatives complain about Ahmedinejad, liberals complain about Ann Coulter's comments on Jews, womens groups complain about Larry Summers speaking at Stanford, and on and on.

Guess what? Its called free speech for a reason!!! If Stanford wants to hear Larry Summers or Columbia wants to hear Ahmedinejad, that is their absolute right. If I disagree with their views, I can choose not to attend. I can even choose not to do business with the people who sponsor the event. I can picket outside to promote an alternative view. All of these things are the exercise of my right to free speech to contrast someone else's. This is what makes the US a great country, a model of freedom for the world.

But if you tell Stanford that they should not allow Larry Summers to speak, even if they want to, that goes against everything this country was founded on. If conservative talk radio want to allow Ann Coulter to make stupid remarks about Jews, that is their right. And it is your right to boycott the station if you want. But please, please, please, don't tell them that they can't allow these people to speak. Lets not create an environment where venues become too intimidated by the threat of boycotts to allow any controversial speakers to speak.

There is a strong body of research on decision making - coming from Human Factors, economics, psychology, political science, management, and many other fields that one of the major factors that makes people poor decision makers is our unwillingness to listen to alternative viewpoints and our cognitive and emotional inability to incorporate alternate viewpoints into our own. From Infotopia to The Myth of the Rational Voter, there are some great examples of this that should make us stop and think about this backlash against free speech.

But only if you are willing to listen to my alternate viewpoint.