Overcoming Self-Censorship in the Age of Outrage
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As a society we are self-censoring at record rates. Say the wrong thing at the wrong moment to the wrong person and the consequences can be dire.
Think that everyone should be treated equally regardless of race? You\\u2019re a racist. Argue that people should be able to speak freely within the bounds of the law? You\\u2019re a fascist.
When the truth is no defense and nuance is seen as an attack, self-censorship is a rational choice. Yet, when we are too fearful to speak openly and honestly, we deprive ourselves of the ability to build genuine relationships, we yield all cultural and political power to those with opposing views, and we lose our ability to challenge ideas or change minds, even our own.
Katherine Brodsky argues that it\\u2019s time for principled individuals to hit the unmute button and resist the authoritarians among us who name, shame, and punish.
Shermer and Brodsky discuss: growing up Jewish in the Soviet Union and Israel \\u2022 why liberals (or progressives) no longer defend free speech \\u2022 cancel culture: data and anecdotes and whether it is an imagined moral panic \\u2022 free speech law vs. free speech norms \\u2022 solutions to cancel culture \\u2022 identity politics \\u2022 witch crazes and virtue signaling \\u2022 hate speech and slippery slopes \\u2022 how to stand up to cancel culture.
Katherine Brodsky is a journalist and author. She has contributed to publications such as Variety, the Washington Post, WIRED, The Guardian, and many others. Over the years she has interviewed a diverse range of intriguing personalities, including the Dalai Lama.
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