Tag: Revolutionary

  • Introducing Soapbox 2026: Free speech – still revolutionary!

    Introducing Soapbox 2026: Free speech – still revolutionary!

    Free speech has always been America’s revolutionary idea. Next year, as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, FIRE is launching Soapbox 2026 — our bold new conference dedicated to the power of expression, the courage of dissent, and the timeless value of speaking freely. 

    On November 4–6, 2026, in the birthplace of liberty, Philadelphia, join FIRE for three unforgettable days of fearless conversations, sharp debates, and incredible entertainment that you won’t want to miss!

    What is Soapbox?

    Soapbox is more than a conference. It’s a high-energy, content-rich celebration of free speech culture, both on and off campus. Picture this: 

    • High-impact keynotes from some of today’s most fearless thinkers
    • Timely debates and panels tackling the most pressing issues in speech and expression
    • Immersive entertainment and activations that make free speech not just an idea, but an experience
    • And a showstopping gala to cap it all off

    Soapbox will bring together professors, advocates, artists, celebrities, and supporters to talk about free expression and shout it from their own soapbox. 

    Why now? At FIRE, we’ve spent more than 25 years defending free speech in courtrooms, on campuses, and in our culture. We’ve seen first-hand that free expression is the beating heart of American life. Soapbox is the natural next step — an opportunity for free speech advocates to gather together and remind the nation that free speech is still revolutionary and still worth fighting for today. 

    Who’s it for? FIRE is proudly nonpartisan, and Soapbox will unite voices from across the political spectrum. This will be a gathering where hundreds of experts and newcomers alike can connect, learn, and amplify the culture of free speech and expression. 

    Save the Date!

    • Where: Philadelphia, PA

    • When: November 4–6, 2026

    • Who: Professors, advocates, artists, celebrities, thought leaders, supporters, partners who believe in free expression — and you! 

    This is just the beginning. Soapbox is designed to grow into a defining event for free expression — one that echoes far beyond its stage. We’d love for you to be part of the inaugural year. Whether you’re a scholar, a member, an ally, or simply someone who believes speech should always be free, Soapbox is your platform.

    Sign up here to stay up to date on all things Soapbox. If you have any questions or interest in sponsoring the event, please reach out at [email protected].

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  • A Call for Revolutionary Hope in American Higher Education

    A Call for Revolutionary Hope in American Higher Education

    In a fiery and prophetic address, the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries invoked the memory of America’s original struggle for freedom, branding the tyranny of King George III in the years before the American Revolution as “Project 1775.” With bold clarity, he drew a straight line from that era of oppression to today’s rising authoritarianism—what he identified as “Donald Trump’s Project 2025” and the accompanying Trump Spending Bill. But rather than ending in despair, his speech was a call to courage and hope: just as Project 1775 gave birth to the Revolution of 1776, we are called to give birth to a new movement—Project 2026, a revolutionary vision of democracy, justice, and renewal.

    His message resonates beyond politics—it speaks deeply to the state of American higher education, which now stands at a crossroads. Under siege from authoritarian impulses, stripped of funding, and commodified by corporate greed, our colleges and universities reflect a nation in spiritual crisis. But as the Minority Leader reminded us, this moment is also one of great opportunity.

    “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

    Project 2026 is not merely a reaction to tyranny—it is a faith-driven declaration of agency. It is a call to restore education as a public good, not a private racket. It is a rejection of robocolleges, shadowy online program managers, and predatory lenders that have turned learning into a means of lifelong debt. And it is a stand against those who weaponize ignorance and rewrite history for their own gain.

    We are reminded in the New Testament that resistance is righteous, and that reform must be rooted in love, justice, and truth.

    “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

    This truth must guide the next phase of the American experiment—a truth that recognizes students not as consumers but as citizens; that sees teachers not as disposable labor but as bearers of light; and that understands education as liberation, not subjugation.

    Project 2026 can become our modern Sermon on the Mount, a blueprint for building a nation where colleges nurture both critical thinking and spiritual compassion, where public funding is a covenant—not a weapon—and where we “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).

    For decades, institutions of higher learning have drifted toward elitism, exclusion, and exploitation. Many have served as tools of empire, not vessels of enlightenment. Project 2026 offers a rebirth—a Great Awakening that opens the doors of education wide to the poor, the marginalized, and the weary. It speaks to the tired adjunct, the indebted graduate, the first-generation student, and the worker seeking dignity.

    “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

    This is the moment to stand together. Project 2026 must not be left to chance or left in the hands of the powerful alone. It is a grassroots revolution of the mind and spirit—a multiracial, multigenerational, moral movement that calls upon students, faculty, parents, and communities to say: No more.

    No more austerity cloaked as fiscal responsibility.

    No more censorship masquerading as patriotism.

    No more debt for a degree that leads to precarious work and empty promises.

    Instead, let us build an education system worthy of democracy—a system animated by the values that once inspired a ragtag group of rebels in 1776. Let us be the generation that reclaims education as the soul of the Republic.

    “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

    The struggle ahead will not be easy. But neither was 1776. And yet from that fire emerged a new nation. With faith and fierce love, Project 2026 can become a new declaration—not just of independence, but of interdependence. A declaration of solidarity with the forgotten, the silenced, and the struggling.

    Let the tyrants tremble. Let the profiteers beware.

    A revolution is stirring in our hearts.

    And as Scripture reminds us:

    “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

    Sources:

    • The Holy Bible, New Testament

    • House Minority Leader remarks, July 3, 2025

    • Trump-aligned Project 2025 blueprint (Heritage Foundation)

    • Trump Budget and Spending Bill (2025)

    • The Higher Education Inquirer archives on privatization, debt peonage, and adjunct labor in U.S. higher education

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