Exceptionalism comes in various forms. There’s the art-form exclusionist, who disregards Oscar Wilde to think they are a superior life form because they watch Game of Thronesinstead of Jersey Shore. There’s the sport exclusionist, who believes that following a football team from a country that once colonized us is a modern form of tribalism. Then there’s the nation-state exclusionist, who assumes superiority because their forefathers decided to fight European colonialists. And among them, none are worse than the Americans—the first to rid themselves of the Europeans and spend the next 250 years telling everyone about it.
The Free Speech Fantasy
American exceptionalism is a Will McAvoy speech wrapped in a Big Mac, and nowhere is this more evident than in the country’s take on free speech—a delusion that is bipartisan, irrespective of whether one votes red, blue, or purple. Take a recent New Yorker piece titled The Detention of Mahmoud KhalilIs a Flagrant Assault on Free Speech, which, like all others in the same vein, operates under the assumption that Trump isn’t ceteris paribus but a unique, Agent Smith-like bug in the American simulation.
If you’re shocked by this blatant hypocrisy, you shouldn’t be. America’s love affair with free speech has always been more situationship than commitment. The country has perfected the art of championing free speech in theory while systematically undermining it in practice.
From the Red Scare of the 1940s and ’50s, when suspected communists were blacklisted and Hollywood legends like Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles were exiled, to the FBI’s COINTELPRO program in the 1960s and ’70s that wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr., stripped Muhammad Ali of his boxing title, and branded civil rights activists as threats to national security, the message has always been clear: dissent comes at a price.
The post-9/11 era ushered in the Patriot Act, transforming mass surveillance into an art form and forcing whistleblowers like Edward Snowden into exile. Even the entertainment industry wasn’t immune—when Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks criticized Bush’s Iraq War in 2003, country radio stations blacklisted the group, and their CDs were burned in a modern-day book-burning spectacle.
Fast forward to the Black Lives Matter protests, where Republican-led states passed laws making it easier to criminalize demonstrations, journalists were beaten and arrested, and some states even legalized running over protesters with cars. Colin Kaepernick learned the hard way that peaceful protest is only tolerated when it doesn’t challenge the status quo—his NFL career ended the moment he took a knee against racial injustice.
Meanwhile, Julian Assange remains in legal limbo for exposing US war crimes through Wikileaks, facing a potential 175-year prison sentence, while the officials responsible for those crimes continue their lives undisturbed.
Schrodinger’s Freedom of Expression
Mahmoud Khalil. A Palestinian activist, recent Columbia University graduate, and, most importantly, a lawful green card holder. The US government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided he is a threat—not for any crime, not for inciting violence, not even for some convoluted money trail leading to a nefarious organization. His actual offense? Exercising the very right Musk, Trump, and the First Amendment claim to protect.
Now, he’s facing deportation. Because in America, free speech is sacred. Unless, of course, you fail the political vibe check.
And Khalil isn’t alone. Columbia University, under pressure from the Trump administration, recently issued multi-year suspensions, degree revocations, and expulsions against students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, proving once again that campus activism is a privilege, not a right.
Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia, saw her visa revoked without warning, with the Department of Homeland Security accusing her of supporting Hamas—though, unsurprisingly, no evidence was provided. A Fulbright scholar with degrees from Harvard and Columbia, Srinivasan was forced to leave the US, self-deporting via the CBP Home App.
Grant Miner, president of the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC) union, was expelled right before crucial contract negotiations between the union and the university. According to SWC, Miner was removed without evidence after nearly a year of disciplinary proceedings. The union condemned Columbia’s actions as an outright attempt to silence student labor organizers.
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student, was suddenly accused of overstaying her F-1 student visa and faced deportation just as Columbia took action against pro-Palestinian student activists. The timing wasn’t suspicious at all.
But that’s the thing—America has always been selective about whose speech is protected.
History of Suppression
The Civil War and Anti-War Speech Suppression (1860s) – President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, allowing the arrest of anti-war activists without trial. Newspapers sympathetic to the Confederacy were shut down, and editors were jailed. Democratic politician Clement Vallandigham was arrested and exiled to the Confederacy for criticising Lincoln’s war policies.
The Palmer Raids (1919-1920) – Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, in a Red Scare-induced frenzy, led mass arrests of suspected radicals and anarchists. Over 10,000 people were detained without warrants, and immigrants were deported without due process, including feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman.
Japanese-American Internment (1942-1945) – After Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing 120,000 Japanese-Americans into internment camps. Speaking out against internment could get you fired, harassed, or worse. Newspapers like The Pacific Citizen faced censorship, and protest within internment camps was crushed.
Hollywood Blacklist (1947-1960s) – The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) turned paranoia into policy, jailing the Hollywood Ten for refusing to testify about their political beliefs. Screenwriters like Dalton Trumbo and directors like Orson Welles were blacklisted. Careers were destroyed, studios refused to hire suspected leftists, and actors like Charlie Chaplin were effectively exiled.
The Pentagon Papers and the War on Journalists (1971-Present) – When Daniel Ellsberg leaked The Pentagon Papers, exposing how the US government had systematically lied about the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration tried to block publication. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the press, but the precedent was set—whistleblowers became the government’s favourite target. Fast forward to the modern era, and journalists like Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange are still feeling the heat for exposing government misconduct.
The War on Protesters (1980s-Present) – From the heavy-handed police response to Ferguson protests in 2014 to laws making it easier to criminalise demonstrations, America’s approach to dissent has remained consistent: crush it. The Black Lives Matter protests saw thousands arrested, police deploying military-grade equipment, and some states even legalising running over protestors with cars.
Post-9/11 and the Patriot Act (2001-Present) – The government turned mass surveillance into a national sport. The NSA indiscriminately collected Americans’ phone records, emails, and metadata, while whistleblowers like Edward Snowden had to flee the country for exposing it. The FBI used secret National Security Letters (NSLs) to gag journalists, and Muslim communities found themselves under constant government scrutiny for “suspicious” speech.
The NFL and Trump’s War on Kneeling (2017-Present) – When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, Trump called him a traitor and demanded his firing. The NFL complied, and Kaepernick never played another game, proving that even the illusion of free speech disappears when it makes powerful people uncomfortable.
Anti-BDS Laws and the Israel Exception (2017-Present) – More than 35 states passed laws punishing individuals or businesses for boycotting Israel, because in America, you’re free to protest—unless it’s against the wrong ally. In 2018, a Texas teacher was fired for refusing to sign a pro-Israel pledge. Even college professors have lost jobs for criticising Israel, showing that free speech is anything but universal.
The Rise of Deplatforming and Selective Censorship (2020-Present) – Trump was banned from Twitter for inciting a riot, yet Iran’s Supreme Leader and other authoritarian leaders still enjoy full access to social media. Jordan Peterson, Andrew Tate, and Alex Jones were deplatformed, sparking ongoing debates about whether Big Tech functions as a protector of democracy or a Silicon Valley thought police. Eventually they would all be brought back by Musk.
The War on “Woke” vs. The War on “Offensive Speech” (Ongoing) – Whether it’s J.K. Rowling being hounded for her views on gender, Dave Chappelle being protested for telling jokes, or university professors losing jobs for discussing biological sex, the left has its own version of speech suppression. Meanwhile, conservative states are busy banning books on race, LGBTQ+ issues, and history under the guise of “protecting children.”
Covid-19 and the Battle Over Truth (2020-Present) – In the early days of the pandemic, social media platforms cracked down on “misinformation,” banning discussions about lab-leak theories, lockdown policies, and vaccine skepticism—some of which later turned out to be legitimate debates. Scientists questioning lockdowns were blacklisted, tech giants took down posts under government pressure, and speech was regulated under the guise of “public health.”
The idea that America is the global beacon of free speech was always a marketing ploy. Just ask the black man. Or the activist. Or the journalist. Or anyone who has ever dared to challenge the system and found themselves exiled, deplatformed, or worse. So, the next time an American lectures you about free speech, remind them: in their country, it’s not a right—it’s a privilege. One they revoke the moment it threatens power.