There has been a long-standing political consensus that the 1950s blacklist was an ignominious time for the country. That is why leadership is needed from both Democrats and Republicans to promote legal protections against political discrimination and lift cancel culture’s malevolent, anti-free speech, anti-democracy cloud from the social and political landscape.
If the Virginia election was not a wake-up call about the woke threat to democracy, then a recent Hill-HarrisX poll should be.
Released on Nov. 8, the poll found 76% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 68% of independents either strongly or somewhat agree that “cancel culture” has gone too far. The poll used the Merriam-Webster definition of cancel culture: as “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.” That finding is consistent with a March 2021 Harvard-Harris poll, which found an astounding 64% believe “a growing cancel culture” is a threat to freedom.
For most people, the fundamental threat to freedom of thought and political affiliation is not from the far Right, but from the Left. Emboldened by the left-leaning media, “cancel culture” is trammeling the cherished American tradition of permissible ideological differences and open public policy discourse. People who want to speak their minds now face scurrilous labeling, censorship, and retaliation.
The ideological constraints of cancel culture, which attempts to silence or censure all they oppose, are antithetical to liberal doctrine. The Jewish Institute for Liberal Values noted in their 2021 public declaration on equality and liberal values: “An ideology is taking hold across the country that insists there is only one way to look at the problems we face, and those who disagree must be silenced.” That group, along with other bipartisan groups, believes the threat to freedom from cancel culture is real and must be addressed by proactive advocacy.
One way, for example, to curb the threat from cancel culture is found in a Washington, D.C., law that defines “political affiliation” as a protected class against discrimination, just as gender, race, and religion are also protected. Most states, including Maryland and Virginia, do not have this protection in place. While not a remedy to the scourge of ideological bullying, establishing “political affiliation” as a protected class will help ensure that all have “safe spaces” for diverse political beliefs and expression.
The need for this protection serves both ends of the political spectrum. In the 1950s, under Sen. Joe McCarthy’s blacklist, people were professionally stigmatized, discriminated against, and placed under government surveillance for unpopular political thoughts and affiliations. Sound familiar? In a twist of history, today, the far Left is using the same tactics, making McCarthy the tactical progenitor of cancel culture.
