Cancel Culture

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for organizing this. This is an essential topic in this essential time that we find ourselves.

We have a unique foundation, in that our Nation rests on the understanding that our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not a grant from this government but, rather, a gift from God.

Among these inalienable rights enshrined in our First Amendment is the freedom of speech. Indeed, the peace and tranquility of our entire Republic rest on the understanding that the people have a right to have their voice heard.

But we have entered into a most troubling time in our Nation. For all the talk of unity by this current administration, this government has sought only conformity.

In this Chamber, we have witnessed the unilateral march of the extreme-left legislation designed not to protect our liberties but, rather, force the American people to conform to their extreme ideas of government-mandated social engineering and the restructuring of an economy from the most successful model in history to one of socialism, which has failed everywhere it has been tried.

Then there is Big Tech. These companies that arose to prominence in an environment that only economic freedom and opportunity provide have now embraced authoritarianism, fostering a world that is worse than the one they hoped to correct.

They have selectively canceled conservative voices while allowing leftist members, even in this body, to repeatedly call for unrest in our streets and violence against dissenting voices.

They have allowed their platforms to raise money to bail out violent rioters, these true insurrectionists who have called for an end to America, that have burned our flags and literally taken over city blocks, declaring them autonomous to the United States.

Yes, these Big Tech platforms continue to provide a platform for Communist China, for terrorist groups, and others to spew their propaganda.

Then there are the multinational corporations that have bought into this diabolical movement. They are either ignorant to history or simply care more about their quarterly earnings report than the liberty, opportunity, or personal prosperity of their neighbors, the American people.

They would rather cozy up to the powerful to gain access to crush their competition and to protect corporate profits than stand up for the very principles and economic opportunity that enabled their own success. They do a disservice to the people of this Nation. The hypocrisy is not overlooked.

To some in our Nation who have experienced the relative peace and security that comes with being heirs of these blessings of liberty, these trends could seem novel or perhaps part of the natural ebb and flow of politics in a free society.

Sometimes it is harder for us born here to see the signs, but some of the most compelling voices sounding the alarm right now are the immigrants who come here. I have spoken to many from Cuba, Ecuador, Iran, and Venezuela. They see the signs in a way that many of us do not, and they are fearful, angered, and heartbroken.

Venezuela, just a few short years ago, was the economic jewel of South America. Today, it is a wasteland fraught with poverty, conflict, and oppression.

A couple in my district came from Iran. They are terrified by what they are now seeing here. One of them liked a post about the killing of Soleimani and found her account temporarily halted on the platform. The irony is too rich.

I spoke to a lady from Ecuador. She had come to this country at about 18 years of age with her family. Under severe persecution, she had fled the country to come here. She didn't refer to this as the United States of America. She said: ``I come to freedom country. We have to do everything we can to protect freedom country.'' Those were her words.

So we know that while the terminology and the methods may be new, the cancel culture movement is hardly new to history. Despotic regimes have worked to silence dissent for millennia.

What is different about this moment is the broad embrace of the movement by those in positions of power within the United States of America in order to consolidate political power or perhaps preserve their personal status quo, all at the sake of the liberties of their fellow citizens.

Ronald Reagan reminded us that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like to live in the United States where men were free.

It is time to restore power to the American people. It is time for people across this Nation to stand up in boardrooms and classrooms and houses of worship and in this hallowed Chamber, to stand up with courage to this evil movement.

God forbid we be the generation that allows this precious and unique experiment in self-government, this imperfect but beautiful Republic, to sink, enveloped by the undertow of the forces of envy, strife, and division. Let us not let that happen.

Let us be that generation, like generations before, that work toward that more perfect union, one that protects and preserves our beloved freedom country.

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