I had a fun post ready for today about the 40/40/20 rule and the never-ending debate over whether data or creative matter more. Maybe next week.
Because today we have to talk about the Trump drive to censor and silence free speech– and how progressive groups must respond. We are in the midst of a full-on censorship campaign to vilify and silence anyone who dares to criticize Donald Trump.
The President has staked his ground declaring it “illegal” to harshly criticize him: “When 97 percent of the stories are bad about a person, it’s no longer free speech.”
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, put it this way: “It is best to take Trump at his word, and that means the press and the First Amendment are in for a test of unprecedented dimensions . . . The President is trying to press the Mute button on satire, on aggressive reporting, on criticism.” Then he asks the most vital question:
“Who will bow down and who, in the name of free expression and the Constitution, will speak up?”
One of the most concerning dynamics since Trump took office has been the way so many actors – universities, big law firms, the Supreme Court, Republicans in Congress – have chosen the bow down option.
That can’t be how the progressive community responds to what White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has described as an all-out effort to “identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy” what the Trump team calls “leftist groups.”
Moving forward, three crucial imperatives must guide us.
In a year filled with almost daily assaults on democracy and the rule of law, it can be hard to distinguish one set of challenges from another. But make no mistake: In the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk, Trump and his allies are dramatically escalating their efforts to silence any and all opposition.
The Jimmy Kimmel controversy isn’t just about another major legacy media company bending the knee to Trump. What makes it especially dangerous are the actions of Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. It’s government censorship of the highest order when Carr called on Disney/ABC and local broadcasters to punish Kimmel saying “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Carr and Trump have crossed a very important line – one that we can’t treat like just another day in the life of Trump 2.0. And the danger elevated even higher still when Trump openly instructed the Attorney General and the Justice Department to pursue his enemies more aggressively.
To nonprofit CEOs, board members and other leaders, I offer this warning. Keeping your head down and trying to avoid drawing the Trump administration’s ire to your group would be an utter failure of leadership.
Progressive fundraising and communications legend Roger Craver has been especially articulate on this point. Here’s some of his righteous reprimand to those groups that choose to cower and obey in advance.
“Let’s be clear. The government hasn’t silenced your message. Your audience hasn’t abandoned you.
You’ve just stopped showing up with a microphone.”
“In a world where outrage travels at the speed of Wi-Fi, timid is a losing strategy. If you’re still worried that saying what needs to be said might cost you a grant or bring a nasty tweet, let me offer you a reality check: Free speech without courage is just cowardice in a cardigan.`
“If you’re going to stand for justice, then stand up. If you’ve got a Kimmel on your team—let them speak. Turn them loose. Give them a camera, a Canva login, a keyboard, a soapbox. Give them room to raise hell.
“Don’t pre-empt your message before it’s even aired.“
“Otherwise, what’s the point of having a voice at all?”
I urge you to read Roger’s whole post on The Agitator. Here’s the link: https://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/free-speech-without-courage-is/
You know it’s coming. The Trump administration will soon start trying to pick off individual progressive groups and leaders. They’ll do what they’ve promised to do – use the full power of the federal government to take down those who refuse to be silenced.
When that happens, it won’t be right to just breathe a sigh of relief that your own group isn’t in the limelight. Progressives have to rally as a community to defend those who find themselves targeted because they are waging strenuous, peaceful resistance to the Trump authoritarian regime.
This is an evolving struggle and it will require an ongoing conversation all across the progressive landscape. So much depends on the answer to that critical question:
In the face of rapidly escalating attacks on free speech and other pillars of our democracy, who will bow down and who will speak up?
