Prioritized in the first amendment of our Bill of Rights, freedom of speech is the most important component of democracy and the distinguishing factor between countries like ours and North Korea. The ability to express opinions freely is a natural right and should be guaranteed to all people, everywhere, all the time and without restriction. Once epitomized by the United States and the liberalism of western civilization, freedom to express one’s opinions has recently come under attack by the very side that once sought to promote it. Through the intrusion of political correctness and conventions such as safe spaces, trigger warnings and microaggressions, the regressive-left are demolishing the true foundation of liberalism and replacing it with a distorted ideology of their own.

What is the regressive-left, you might ask? Defined by Maajid Nawaz, former Muslim-extremist who now fights to spread notions of equality, human rights and democracy within the Muslim world, the regressive-left are pseudo-liberals who hold regressive views (as opposed to progressive) by tolerating illiberal values for the sake of multiculturalism. Nawaz applies the term predominately to those on the left who are trigger-happy to call anyone who criticizes the doctrine of Islam as racist. After reminding his online audience that Islam is a set of ideas and not a race, Nawaz goes on to state how “no idea is above scrutiny” and paroxysms of hate and prejudice need to be uprooted before having intelligent conversations about issues.

Beyond Maajid Nawaz’s context, the term has come to be known as any group from the left that embodies illiberal principles. Take microaggressions for an example: in today’s political climate, simply asking someone where they come from can be considered a microaggression and potentially racist. The left have gotten so good at being offended by everything that they have shielded themselves from being exposed to any opinions other than their own. This is a dangerous way of thinking. Erroneously accusing someone of being racist puts that person in an uncomfortable situation where they are obligated to defend themselves at all costs; such accusations, no matter how fallacious, can completely tarnish one’s reputation.

University campuses are the breeding grounds for pseudo-liberalism. There have actually been cases lately where students have signed petitions and held protests in order to keep conservative speakers off-campus. Jonathan Haidt, a social physiologist and professor at New York University, alluded to the collegiate regressive-left in an Atlantic article titled “The Coddling of the American Mind”: “The current movement is largely about emotional well-being,” Haidt wrote. “It presumes an extraordinary fragility of the collegiate psyche, and therefore elevates the goal of protecting students from psychological harm. The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into ‘safe spaces’ where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make some uncomfortable.” How can this possibly be the best away to solve our problems? College is the one place where individuals are supposed to be exposed to ideas that challenge their way of thinking. How can intellectual development take place when people are constantly worried about their feelings getting hurt?

This is not to say racism, homophobia, sexism and anti-Muslim bigotry do not exist. Of course they do, and such notions of hate and intolerance need to be challenged and terminated through civilly conducted debates. But how can these battles be waged when we are too afraid to open our mouths in the first place? Free speech favors no opinion. The middle-aged man endorsing Trump’s Mexican wall is entitled to his opinion just as much as the 13-year-old Girl Scout speaking out against animal cruelty. It is the left who are responsible for the success of figures like Donald Trump, who has simply catered to the Americans that are sick and tired of the left telling them what to do. Liberals need to wake up, stop playing victim and congregate in way that will combat conservatism — not empower it.