Elon Musk is a person I’m getting to like more and more the more I hear or read about him. I may not agree with Musk on all issues, but if two people can agree on everything then one person is not necessary. I admire his First Amendment absoluteness and his tenacity.
When former Labor Secretary Robert Reich (of course he is) says that Musk should face arrest for “disseminating hate and lies” – which means anything that Robert Reich does not agree with – I am inclined to tell Robert Reich where he could put that idea. That would be somewhere where the sun never shines.
Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, argued in a Friday column that Elon Musk is “out of control” and needs to be reined in.
He may be the wealthiest man in the entire world. He may be the owner of one of the most influential social media platforms in the world. “But that doesn’t make us powerless,” Reich wrote. Reich included a list of 6 things people can do to restrain Musk.
Reich deemed Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now called X in 2022 “dangerous nonsense” after Musk bought it. He said that Musk’s purchase had more to do with power than freedom of speech.
Reich urged people to boycott Tesla, X and said that “Regulators in the world should arrest Musk if he does not stop spreading lies and hatred on X.”
Reich’s call for a boycott is not a simple one, and he is not just talking about other countries’ regulators. He supports the United States government’s decision to muzzle Elon Musk.
Reich said that the Federal Trade Commission in the United States should require Musk to remove lies that endanger people and, if he doesn’t, they can sue him for violating Section Five of the FTC Act. “Musk’s First Amendment rights to free speech do not take precedence over public interest,” Reich argued.
Mr. Reich is utterly wrong. Elon Musk’s First Amendment takes precedence over what Reich may nebulously describe as “public interests.” What is in the public’s interest? The right of citizens to think, speak, and write as they wish without being influenced by bureaucrats with grudges.
It’s only this one thing, Mr. Reich. You may not even be aware that there is a problem, as it’s in a document that few leftists understand or have read. Here it is, anyway:
Congress may not pass any law that prohibits the free practice of religion restricts the freedom of expression or the press, or limits the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a remedy of grievances.
“But I’m talking about Congress!” Reich might yap. There’s also Article 1 in the 14th Amendment.
A state shall not make or enforce a law that would abridge any privileges or immunity of United States citizens; nor may any State rob anyone of their life, liberty or property without due process; nor can any State deny any person in its jurisdiction equal protection under the law.
The Bill of Rights and the First Amendment apply to all states.
Robert Reich, an ex-apparatchik now out of power who longs for the old days, defines “lies and hatred” as “anything that I disagree with.” Musk has made a lot of statements. I have read them all, as I am on X. I’ve heard him in interviews.
Musk has never, ever, expressed any idea that could be construed as “hate.” Even if Musk were to be “hateful,” the First Amendment would still apply. The First Amendment applies to all. That’s why we allow Kukluxxers to march, neo-Nazis to hold rallies, Black Panthers to have protests. Free speech does not apply to all; it is not fair to anyone. If the government can silence one person, we can all be silenced.
Reich doesn’t seem to care.
Musk is in a spat with Brazil right now, but Brazil does not have a First Amendment. Natural rights are universal. They apply to all people, everywhere. Most nations today deny these rights to their citizens. Brazil does. Canada does. Canada does. We don’t need to accept that in the United Kingdom. We don’t need to listen to old-fashioned apparatchiks, like Robert Reich, who suggest that the American government uses STASI tactics to silence anyone he does not like.
