Rudy Giuliani: Cancel culture is ruining the American Dream | Opinion

Our rights and liberties are under assault by the Democratic Party’s embrace of the radical left. Together, they are attacking our history, our society, and our shared values in the form of “cancel culture.” It is rapidly infecting the mainstream media, social media, and liberal elites in academia throughout America.

Everyday patriotic Americans are branded by the radical left for their previous “insensitive” comments or statements, ostracized by their families and communities, fired by their employers, and shamed for alleged transgressions with no opportunity for explanation. If charged with such a violation you are seen as a pariah. For high-profile figures, this can mean that the public will stop supporting your work, as we’ve seen with people like Kevin D. Williamson, who was fired from the Atlantic in 2018 for his pro-life views after social media outrage from the radical left. It can happen to average citizens, too, if a “problematic” social media post from their past is discovered and publicized.

» READ MORE: How ‘cancel culture’ caught on so quickly | The Angry Grammarian

In this toxic climate, Americans, especially young adults, are left wondering what their incentive is to dream, dare to be great, and fight for their American Dream. All around them, our children are seeing the heroes of our storied American history torn down, both literally and figuratively. Right here in Philadelphia, the city voted to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus in Marconi Plaza, which I visited on Monday. Why would today’s children endeavor for greatness or struggle to create positive change in the world, if posterity will simply demonize them for their flaws? Our history, while imperfect, is a story of hope, progress, and the creation of the most free and equal society in the history of the world. By erasing the figures that populate our textbooks and animate our collective national conscience, chaos and a lack of moral authority fill the void that is inevitably left.

“It should be the proudest claim of our Republic that we protect speech and beliefs that are voiced by the smallest minorities of the population.”

The unjustified attacks on great figures in American history coincide with the destruction of the values that made the United States so revolutionary and unique in the first place. Words like honesty, courage, and responsibility seem increasingly alien to our society. Instead, they are replaced by an ever-shifting subjective system of values defined by a few self-righteous elites hell-bent on shaming and silencing other Americans.

At stake for our country are the erosion of independent thought and the destruction of our core values. Speech has been successfully proscribed in many cases; a common whisper heard in many circles today is “it’s true, but you just can’t say that out loud anymore.” Conservative media voices are derided as “racist” or “xenophobic,” in an attempt to invalidate their beliefs. For example, accounts on social media platforms operated by conservative personalities have been subjected to what I believe is undue scrutiny and censorship not applied to their left-wing counterparts. Ordinary Americans live in fear of being vilified for their most deeply held convictions.

It should be the proudest claim of our Republic that we protect speech and beliefs that are voiced by the smallest minorities of the population. These are the fears articulated by James Madison to combat the “tyranny of the majority” that the radical left wants to reign supreme. Instead, it seems to be their ultimate goal to create a great ideological monolith, where dissent is nonexistent, freedom of thought is anathema, and orthodoxy is the only option.

» READ MORE: Cancel culture punishes young people for speaking their minds | Opinion

Against this backdrop, President Donald Trump remains the champion of traditional American principles. He is forcefully fighting back against the cancel culture being enacted by the radical left. For example, President Trump signed Executive Orders protecting our monuments and announcing a Garden of Heroes to preserve our shared history for posterity. He is rooting out and destroying radical leftist movements in our schools, and restoring the founding promise of our Nation. President Trump established a national commission to promote patriotic education in American schools called the 1776 Commission. It will teach students American exceptionalism and make plans to honor the United States semiquincentennial anniversary.

President Trump stands proudly as a defender against a “cancel culture” movement that seeks to fundamentally change our American way of life. This radical movement that ruins livelihoods, shames dissenters, and demands total submission from those with opposing viewpoints is antithetical to what America is supposed to be. We must push back against this dangerous force to save our country from tearing itself apart.

Rudy Giuliani is an American attorney, cybersecurity adviser, and politician who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He is President Trump’s personal attorney.

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