All Speech Is Not Equal

Tucker Carlson interviewed Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Islamic Republic of Iran, under the guise of journalism. In a preamble, Carlson states that Americans have the right to “all the information they can gather about matters that affect them.” Carlson also tells his viewers “you should be able to decide for yourself whether you believe [what Pezeshkian says] or not.” That’s the point, he says simply.

Allowing, even enabling, individuals to think for themselves is noble. Free thinking is a core principle upon which our glorious nation was founded. Free thinking is a necessity  for a healthy democracy.

But I watched Carlson’s interview with Pezeshkian and realized something: in order to maintain independent thought, we need to draw red lines. Not all speech is equal. Propaganda, especially the state-sponsored variety, does not constitute legitimate ideas worthy to be heard. If we treat truth and lies equally, where are our morals? Where are our principles? What do we stand for?

In fact, these red lines for speech already exist in our society in some capacity. It is illegal to lie under oath in a court of law. We do not accept falsehoods as legitimate testimony. Similarly, falsely besmirching someone’s character (defamation) through writing or speech is also illegal. We know lies are not equivalent to truths.

Lies are the Islamic regime’s most valuable currency under harsh economic sanctions. I know because I was raised in Iran. I attended Islamic schools where we were instructed to lie to non-Muslims, especially if it advanced the regime’s goals. (“What are their goals?” you may ask. Death to America. Death to the West. And they mean that very literally—not in the poetic sense that Pezeshkian described.) Americans do not owe it to themselves to hear from regime officials in order to consider the other side. Because what they say publicly to the West is, in fact, not “the other side.” It is a lie, expertly crafted over the years, to resonate with specific audiences: to the American right, they speak of wanting to end endless wars; to the American left, they talk of promoting diversity and inclusion. A lie has no substance. A lie contains no value. It is a waste of time to mull over the words of Pezeshkian in one’s pursuit of truth.

Do you really want to understand the Islamic Republic of Iran? Look at what the regime says internally. Scroll through Khamenei’s Twitter feed. In English and Farsi he espouses violent rhetoric. Read Khomeini’s writings. He wrote several books on Islamic jurisprudence, and they are an excellent window into the mind of the regime. Those words are, after all, what the Islamic regime was founded on. Those are what it stands for today. If reading is too much, I recommend watching MEMRI’s videos. MEMRI, an independent organization, posts translated clips of mullahs preaching hateful rhetoric, and their “scientists” spilling the beans on the alleged peaceful nuclear program. And finally, listen to what Iranian political dissidents and ex-Muslims like myself say about the regime. We who risk our lives to speak the truth know what’s at stake by platforming Islamists. It happened in 1979, resulting in the destruction of our homeland. And we are worried it could happen again to our place of refuge, the United States of America.

America First means rejecting the Islamic Republic’s propaganda, not platforming their lies.