Harry Potter author J.k. Rowling isn’t someone I’ve paid much attention to in the past. I had presumed her to be just another darling of the artistic left, but she’s suddenly hit my radar with this gutsy and blunt defense of free speech whilst in the ‘lions den’.

Click that link and watch it. Now, before you read any further.

I like the fact that this is not just a defense of free speech in principle, but she’s explicit about the application of free speech in exactly a context which she would have known would be unpopular to many in the room. She’s gone far beyond platitudes and lip service, to cut to the bone on a raw and real application of the principle she’s standing for.

I’m also heartened by the applause she was given as she made her point. Perhaps the ‘arts left’ are not as far gone as I’ve thought they were… perhaps I’ve fallen guilty of tarring them all with the same brush… a brush which was based on the most vocal and least tolerant among them.

I certainly hope so… although I’ll also say that I’ve come face-to-face with with members of the arts left in Australia who are easily the most intolerant and bigoted people I’ve ever had the misfortune to encounter (although they of course would say the opposite) and so there’s certainly truth to the stereotype… but maybe there’s been a ‘silent majority’ even in the arts left that have bitten their tongues as their more radical fellow travelers have hogged the spotlight with their extreme views, but now they’re finally daring to stick their heads up and bring a little common sense to the table.

I’m especially thrilled to see that in the last little while we’ve seen former Monty Python actor and very famous comedian John Cleese take a public stand, and now Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling as well. I hope that this is a sign that many on the ‘left’ are rediscovering classical liberal values, values for which they say they once stood for…

What do you think? Am I being too nice? Is there hope for the ‘arts left’?

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