America’s free-speech hero

Some say there are no heroes left. Not true.

A new “face” has emerged, whose courageous exploits are already enough to fill a “book.”

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, has stepped up to become the nation’s preeminent defender of free speech, a lone voice in corporate America, where most CEO’s cower at the first negative social media post, and capitulate to the radical whims of the mob.

The wave of intolerance sweeping America is unprecedented, as no one and nothing are safe, from iconic food products and sports team names, to statues, holidays and reputations. But most alarming is that the bedrock value of free speech is under constant barrage by extreme Leftists. Hellbent on whitewashing American history, they seek to transform our free society into one that bows to politically correct masters.

The logical thing would be to ignore the fleeting social media posts of a loud but small faction, whose sole purpose is to play “gotcha” with as many businesses as possible, but whose attention span is that of a goldfish. Instead, most large companies embrace such political correctness, either out of a misguided desire to appear “trendy,” or because they are intimidated by radical groups demanding absolute compliance with their agenda, along with big checks to their organizations.

But what business leaders fail to grasp is that when you give these people an inch, they take a mile. Sadly, that’s a lesson that Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, failed to understand. Despite the majority of Native Americans being unopposed to using tribal names for teams and mascots, Snyder caved to a small minority (after vowing never to do so), and now a sports icon — the Redskins name — is gone.

And that leads us to Mr. Zuckerberg.

The Cancel Culture has vilified the tech guru because he hasn’t allowed himself to be bullied into submission. The mob thinks Facebook allows too much “hate speech” on its platform, and wants protections for users and advertisers against such language. In particular, they are angry that Facebook is not “fact-checking” President Trump’s statements, and were infuriated that Facebook did not remove/amend Mr. Trump’s statement during the riots that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

After Mr. Zuckerberg failed to bow before the censors, the next step was to demand companies boycott Facebook by not advertising. So the paragons of pusillanimity, and the titans of timidity — Coca Cola, Unilever, Verizon, and, of course, the most spineless, Starbucks — joined the party. And guess what? Facebook stock went up, and keeps rising. Mr. Zuckerberg’s response? To paraphrase The Terminator: they’ll be back.

After meeting with critics, Mr. Zuckerberg was dragged through the mud, again, because he wouldn’t cede to their demands. The sheer gall of these folks is mind-blowing.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s voice of reason shone through: “We’re not going to change our policies or approach on anything because of a threat to … any percent of our revenue. If someone … threatens you to do something, that actually kind of puts you in a box, where in some ways it’s even harder to do what they want because now it looks like you’re capitulating.”

Well said. And so damn right. Mr. Zuckerberg is protecting freedom of speech for everyone, not just some. And he clearly understands that once you start censoring speech because a particular side doesn’t like it, you start down a slope where there is no turning back. Today the bullies and censors are the radical Left; tomorrow they could be from the opposite end of the spectrum. Therefore, as Mr. Zuckerberg articulates, it’s not up to him or Facebook to be the “arbiter of truth.” We are adults, and can form our own opinions. And by the way, nobody has to use Facebook. If people don’t like it, they can sign off, but they aren’t entitled to have Facebook be to their liking.

Mark Zuckerberg has shown himself to be a modern-day visionary. His actions have nothing to do with personal beliefs, and everything to do with protecting the right of everyone to be heard. His platform has revolutionized the world, and he wields a power that was beyond our wildest dreams just a generation ago. He could have easily caved to the mob so the controversy would pass quickly. And undeniably, capitulation would have made his life easier by appeasing the country-club set, who loathe themselves for their own cowardice.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Mark Zuckerberg is gallantly serving his country, steadfast in his commitment to freedom. In doing so, he joins a rare breed whose motto says it all: We are condemned by the very people we are sworn to protect….we are the strangest heroes of all.