The past couple of weeks have been challenging. My grandfather died, and the ensuing family chaos and celebrations of a life well lived distracted me from my work. I hope to get back to a regular schedule soon.
Continue reading “Sunday Curiosities: Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Offend”Tag: Free Speech
In Defense of the Fourth Tenet of The Satanic Temple
The Fourth Tenet of The Satanic Temple reads, “The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.”
Continue reading “In Defense of the Fourth Tenet of The Satanic Temple”My Satanism Is the Test of Your Commitment to Religious Freedom
If there is one thing I find myself continually communicating about my Satanism, it is this: my Satanism isn’t about you. You might feel such a unique revulsion at my practice, or you might be so flummoxed by the religion that you can only assume that it is about deliberately provoking you.
This all assumes that you, the offended, are at the center of my religion. But my Satanism isn’t about you. You, the offended, don’t figure into 99.9% of my religious practice. It isn’t about offending, hurting, or provoking you. My Satanism is about me — my catharsis, my fulfillment, and how I choose to practice compassion toward all other creatures. That it offends you is incidental.
But offense, even if that is not my Satanism’s primary goal, does have its utility, and it is this: my Satanism is the test of your commitment to religious liberty.
Continue reading “My Satanism Is the Test of Your Commitment to Religious Freedom”Sacred Tension: The Freedom to Offend | Lucien Greaves
In this episode of Sacred Tension, Lucien Greaves and I talk about the attempted assassination of free speech hero Salman Rushdie, the Fourth Tenet of the Satanic Temple, the importance of offense in a pluralistic democracy, how Surveillance Capitalism destroys the marketplace of ideas, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: The Freedom to Offend | Lucien Greaves”Sacred Tension: The Constitution of Knowledge | Jonathan Rauch
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I speak with author, journalist, and gay activist Jonathan Rauch about his brilliant new book The Constitution of Knowledge. We discuss free speech, minority identity, cancel culture, the existential threat from the far right, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: The Constitution of Knowledge | Jonathan Rauch”Sacred Tension: What is Free Speech? With Adam Goldstein of FIRE
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I speak with attorney Adam Goldstein of The Foundation For Individual Rights in Education. We have a wide ranging conversation about free speech law, free speech culture, tech platforms, how free speech interacts with the right vs. the left, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: What is Free Speech? With Adam Goldstein of FIRE”Sacred Tension: A Satanic Defense of Free Speech with Lucien Greaves, Part 2
I continue my conversation with Lucien Greaves of The Satanic Temple. We talk about Black Lives Matter, effective protest, LGBT rights, and we take questions from my audience.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: A Satanic Defense of Free Speech with Lucien Greaves, Part 2”Free Speech, Blasphemy, And the Symbol of Christ: Best Comments of September 2020
This month we discussed free speech, the subjective symbol of Christ, and much more.
Continue reading “Free Speech, Blasphemy, And the Symbol of Christ: Best Comments of September 2020”Sacred Tension: A Satanic Defense of Free Speech with Lucien Greaves
In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple. We discuss conspiracy theories, Qanon, the destructive nature social media platforms, and why we must all be ardent defenders of free speech. This is part one of a two-part conversation.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: A Satanic Defense of Free Speech with Lucien Greaves”Free Speech and Misreading The Paradox of Tolerance
In the aftermath of the horrific Charlottesville rally, a memed quote by Carl Popper called “The Paradox of Tolerance” started making the rounds on leftist Internet. I’ve heard it invoked regularly since by figures like Vaush and Science Mike (this isn’t a dig at either of these creators. I admire both of them for different reasons. Please don’t be mean to them.) I myself have favorably invoked the Paradox in private conversation. The “Paradox” is this:
Continue reading “Free Speech and Misreading The Paradox of Tolerance”Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
Stephen Bradford Long 