DARE TO SPEAK is written by Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America which is a writers' human rights organization devoted to the celebration and defense of free expression worldwide. Subtitled "Defending Free Speech for All," this text is divided into several parts which deal with key principles for speaking, listening, debating, and setting policy related to speech. There is, for example, a chapter titled "Apologize when you've said something wrong" which itself has boxed sections with text for good apologies, pseudo apologies, and even steps on how to apologize. We have certainly become a less civil society when we need this detailed direction. The section dealing with listening encourages readers to consider context and "call out with caution" as well as fighting hateful speech and hate crimes. I know our students are quite interested in this topic overall and I was surprised by reference to a Smith College study (154-55) which found a shift amongst students in the last 20 years towards "wider support for censorship." Nossel notes that PEW has documented similar findings amongst millennials versus older generations. Recently, The New York Times published "Groupthink has Left the Left Blind," an opinion piece on the danger of exiling dissent voices. Nossel, too, says "Progressives in positions of influence bear a special responsibility to defend the neutral principle of open expression." DARE TO SPEAK seems a timely text for many reasons, including the hearing Congress has been holding with the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter about their companies' policies and actions.

Perhaps we all need to reflect on President Obama’s advice which Nossel quotes: "If you disagree with somebody, bring them in and ask them tough questions. ... Engage it. Debate it. Stand up for what you believe in." DARE TO SPEAK is definitely thought-provoking, has a helpful index and close to 30 pages of notes and references. Library Journal describes it as "An informative work for readers interested in human rights, free speech, censorship, and how they interact." I am so proud of our students who practiced speaking out at the Board of Education meeting as our community debates the pros and cons of remote vs. hybrid learning. We will have a copy of DARE TO SPEAK on our shelves soon.

Link in live post:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/liberal-media-censoring.html

A solid defense of free speech from a liberal point of view. Nossel is a member of PEN America and served in the Obama administration. She has a long history of representing people around the world whose rights of self-expression have been violated, and brings her experience to bear in the book. I appreciated the organization of the book into short chapters and sections, the extensive endnotes, and the bullet points of takeaways at the conclusion of each chapter.

Nossel is a super-clear thinker and writer. If her writing were a running stream, you could count the scales on the fish. I was surprised and pleased to find thorough coverage of the myriad responsibilities that accrue to speakers in our society, including the importance of carefully listening before speaking and how to listen properly, the duty to not only include but to amplify marginalized voices and strategies for doing so. The author also argues that simply saying "more speech" or "counterspeech" is the answer to free speech conflicts is insufficient and goes a long way toward illustrating what speech-counterspeech exchanges might be productive and which are likely to be unproductive.

The author includes the history of U. S. jurisprudence around speech, but the parts about the law never become boring or pedantic. A brilliant treatise. I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley and was encouraged to write an honest review.