JRE 1595 · June 27, 2024

Ira Glasser

politicsphilosophyhistory

Who is Ira Glasser?

Ira Glasser is a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union and a lifelong defender of every citizen's right to free speech. He is the subject of the 2020 documentary "Mighty Ira", available now on streaming video.

Topics and Timestamps

01Ira Glasser discusses his 50+ year career defending free speech as former ACLU director
02Explores the tension between protecting offensive speech and preventing harm in modern society
03Explains why the ACLU defended the KKK and other unpopular groups as constitutional principle
04Addresses cancel culture, social media pile-ons, and the erosion of tolerance for dissenting views
05Discusses the documentary 'Mighty Ira' and his legacy in civil liberties law
06Examines how free speech protections have been weaponized and misunderstood in contemporary discourse
▶Introduction to Ira Glasser and his ACLU legacy0:00:00
▶Discussion of why the ACLU defended controversial groups and free speech principles0:05:00
▶Conversation about cancel culture and social consequences versus institutional censorship0:20:00
▶Exploring the tension between protecting speech and preventing harm0:35:00
▶Discussion of the documentary 'Mighty Ira' and Glasser's career trajectory0:50:00

The Show

Joe sits down with Ira Glasser, the legendary former director of the American Civil Liberties Union, to discuss one of the most polarizing and misunderstood topics in modern America: free speech. This conversation cuts right to the heart of what it means to defend freedom of expression, even when that expression is offensive, hateful, or deeply unpopular.

Glasser brings decades of experience fighting for civil liberties to the table. He's not here to convince you that all speech is good or that there aren't consequences to what people say. Instead, he argues something more subtle and more important: that the legal protections for free speech are foundational to a functioning democracy, and that once you start carving out exceptions for speech you find morally repugnant, you've opened a door that can never be fully closed again. Joe and Ira dig into the real tension here. It's not about whether someone should face social backlash or criticism for what they say. It's about whether the government or institutions should have the power to silence them.

The conversation inevitably touches on why the ACLU defended the KKK's right to march and speak. Glasser explains this wasn't about supporting the KKK's message or ideology. It was about understanding that if you allow the suppression of speech you hate, you're establishing a legal and moral precedent that will eventually be used against groups you actually care about. This is the principle that separates free speech from censorship, and it's harder to maintain than most people realize.

Modern social media and cancel culture get examined too. Glasser acknowledges that pile-ons, doxxing, and coordinated attacks on individuals are real phenomena with real consequences. But he distinguishes between social consequences, which are inevitable in a free society, and institutional or governmental censorship, which is something else entirely. The documentary 'Mighty Ira' provides context for his career and his unwavering commitment to these principles through decades of changing politics and culture.

This is a dense, thoughtful episode that respects the audience's intelligence. Glasser isn't looking for easy answers or moral victories. He's interested in the harder work of maintaining principles even when they're unpopular, uncomfortable, and seem to protect the wrong people. That's the actual job of defending freedom.

Best Quotes

“The principle of free speech is that we protect speech we hate, not speech we love. That's what makes it a principle.”

— Ira Glasser