Free Speech And Why It Matters

Talking the talk

4.5 stars

Author
Northern Irish comedian, playwright, journalist, and political satirist. Degree in English and a doctorate in early Renaissance poetry from Oxford. Co-creator of the fictional character Jonathan Pie, a political correspondent who rants about British, American and Australian politics online. He also created the fictional character Titania McGrath, for whom he maintains a parody Twitter account that mocks contemporary "woke culture.” The account has over half a million followers, and has been suspended 4 times of alleged hate speech. Mr D has written two books under the guise of Titania McGrath: Woke: A Guide to Social Justice (2019), and one for children titled My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism (2020).

Summary
Back in the sixties, it was the political left that demanded free speech and carped about repression by those on the right (“The man”). Fashions change, like hair styles and skirt lengths. The authoritarian left is now ascendent, but free speech remains a hot topic. There are numerous books and articles out there. The quality varies from well-thought-out argument to sensationalist cash grab (I’m looking at you Dave Rubin).
This book is concise with 18 short chapters in which Doyle presents contemporary examples of state overreach in regards to speech. The title of the opening chapter, “We need to check your thinking”, tells of retired Scottish policeman Harry Miller, who was visited at home by police after he shared a supposedly offensive poem on social media. They told him he had not committed a crime, but they still wanted to check his thinking! Nuff said.
“I start from the proposition that free speech is nothing less than the keystone of our civilisation,” Mr Doyle asserts. “You may have reservations about this view. You may believe that unlimited speech enables the worst elements of us to commit harm.”
“The price we pay for a free society is that bad people will say bad things. We tolerate this, not because we approve of the content of their speech, but because once we have compromised on the principle of free speech, we clear the pathway for future tyrants”. Once laws and regulations are passed, they will eventually be used as a tool against those who seek to censor, as much as everyone else, e.g. M Thatcher’s successful use of laws introduced by Labour to outlaw Oswald Mosley’s blackshirts in the 1930s against striking unionised coal miners in the 1980s.

Writing
Crisp, concise, and well argued with olive branches aplenty to the authoritarian left, which jumped as one on Mr Doyle on social media even before this book was published, and continue to do so without addressing the points he makes, suggesting they still haven’t bothered to read it. Vita sic est.

Bottom line
If you’re hoping for humour, Titania McGrath style, you won’t find it here. You will find reasoned argument. To paraphrase some dead French dude, I don’t agree with everything Mr D writes, but I defend his right say it.