McCarthyism returns? How free speech is under attack in Trump's USA

As the US prepares to mark its 250th anniversary next year, its citizens must speak up for the foundational right of freedom of speech

My father, of beloved memory, was an outspoken politician. He was once described as a philosopher similar to Socrates – a man with strange ideas that sparked respectful interest from even his opponents.

One of my father’s ideas was to transition as soon as possible from petrol to methane gas to power police cars and help save the environment. Another was to reduce automobile traffic by building a futuristic monorail system.

What is truly remarkable is that Papa espoused these ideas in the 1970s in the conservative city of Dallas, Texas and he was never censored. Just the opposite, because of his bold and innovative ideas he was elected, and re-elected, to the city council.

Joe McCarthy uses a map showing alleged communist activity in the US during a 1954 hearing in Washington | Getty Images

Trump’s war on diversity

American censorship had been an evil of the 1950s when the flames of suspicion and fear were rapidly and continually fanned by Senator Joe McCarthy. I thought this perilous time had long passed until this week when I received a newsletter from the highly respected International Festivals and Events Association.

They reported that some festivals throughout the United States were potentially being threatened by the new US administration’s policy regarding its opposition to diversity, equality, and inclusion, known as DEI. In short, the administration does not wish DEI to be recognised in public events.

From the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to major universities to local festivals and arts, culture, and public celebrations, all are facing threats that funding will be frozen if they embrace the principles of DEI in their programming.

Furthermore, on university campuses, students are being arrested because their views are contrary to that of the current US administration. Some of these students are also facing deportation which would interrupt or end their precious education in the US.

Festival cancelled

This is a horrific nightmare for the sacred First Amendment of the United States Constitution in which freedom of speech has been enshrined in law for 234 years. In my view, the primary purpose of live events is to guarantee freedom of speech and expression and any effort to weaken this right is in fact a fundamental threat for the live events industry both in the United States and also throughout the world.

Therefore, when I read that a Colombian festival was cancelled in the US state of Michigan due to lack of funding because, according to some but not all potential sponsors, its diverse and inclusive events should not be supported, I was deeply worried.

And, in the same newsletter, when I read that in Skagit Valley, Washington, the annual tulip festival was facing objections from their Canadian neighbours due to the new tariffs proposed by the US government, I could feel the chill all the way from Nova Scotia to Auld Scotia.

Whilst there is no definitive, annual economic impact for live events worldwide, the impact on small communities such as in Michigan and Washington can create seismic shocks for local hospitality businesses. Through economic multiplier effects, such cancellations may negatively harm many other business enterprises locally, state-wide, and, through domestic trade and travel, nationally as well.

Important to be politically active

When I was a professor in university classrooms for 47 years, I often reminded my students that if they did not vote, they did not have a say in the future of their society. Latterly, I reminded them that if they did not become active in politics or even stand for public office themselves, they could not effectively influence the future of their community or nation and, in turn, the rest of the world.

A few of my students actually listened to my admonitions and eventually stood beside me at protests, such as when the current US President was first elected, and I was particularly proud when some students were actually elected to local community councils and school boards.

I believe the live events industry must now rise up and roar their disapproval by uniformly defying the threats being issued by the current US administration. We must with one loud voice state, until it is heard far and wide, “Hands Off Our Live Events!”

As the US prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, let us hope that we shall also be honouring the commitments made by our founding fathers and mothers to liberty and justice for all citizens.

A firefly, not a gadfly

I hope, as do millions of others, that the 250th anniversary of what was at one time the best example of democracy in the world will, through the collective action of citizens, demonstrate that we believe, as is made clear in the US Declaration of Independence that all people are “created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Shortly after Papa’s death, a journalist wrote that he had been perceived as a political gadfly when in fact he had become a firefly. The firefly uses bioluminescence to emit a bright light during dark times. Interestingly and not surprisingly, many of Papa’s once-strange ideas such as environmental sustainability are now strongly embraced – thanks, in part, to the protections afforded by freedom of speech.

As guardians of free speech, current US citizens will be held responsible next year by future generations during the 250th anniversary of American for ensuring that the pursuit of happiness is still guaranteed through our steadfast commitment to keeping all dangerous hands far away and entirely off of our live events and all other opportunities to exercise the sacred right to free speech.

Joe Goldblatt is emeritus professor of planned events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. His views are his own. To learn more about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot