I Used to Like You Until...: (How Binary Thinking Divides Us)

by Kat Timpf

Here’s the thing: Whether you agree that the ideas that this law would ban are bad ideas or not should not impact how you feel about the law itself. No matter how stupid you think “woke” thought and speech (whatever you consider that to be) is, you have to at least acknowledge that it is thought and speech. The state can’t banish ideas, and any argument that it should is objectively draconian; I am never going to be comfortable with a politician putting forward legislation that aims to silence certain schools of thought and speech. If you are fine with it because you happen to agree that “woke” is bad, be careful what you wish for. Similar to my point above: If the government can be used to stop “woke” thought, it could also be used to stop conservative thought. Once you give the government vague, broad powers to control speech based on subjective criteria, any speech is up for silencing. The better move is always to allow for the free exchange of ideas without censorship from the government. (As of the time of this writing, the courts have blocked enforcement of the “Stop WOKE Act” at businesses, colleges, and universities, but it remains intact for K–12 schools.)