Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a stark warning to European leaders, emphasizing that the greatest danger to the continent lies not from external forces like Russia or China, but from within. Pence criticized Europe for its embrace of censorship and its abandonment of fundamental democratic values.
And unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners. If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk. In other words, Team America: World Police is over. Europe has got to stop relying on America for everything because we need to take care of ourselves before anyone else, mainly because the most dangerous threats come from within.
Vance called out Europe for not practicing what they preach. European Union leaders react with such glee when a country erases an election that didn’t turn out the way the EU wanted. We gather at this conference, of course, to discuss security. And normally we mean threats to our external security. I see many great military leaders gathered here today. But while the Trump administration is very concerned with European security and believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine, and we also believe that it’s important, in the coming years for Europe to step up in a big way to provide for its own defense. the threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America. Now, I was struck that a former European commissioner went on television recently and sounded delighted that the Romanian government had just annulled an entire election. He warned that if things don’t go to plan, the very same thing could happen in Germany, too. Now, these cavalier statements are shocking to American ears. For years, we’ve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values, everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy. But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard. And I say ourselves because I fundamentally believe that we are on the same team. We must do more than talk about democratic values. We must live them. Now, within living memory of many of you in this room, the Cold War positioned defenders of democracy against much more tyrannical forces on this continent. And consider the side in that fight that censored dissidents, that closed churches, that canceled elections. Were they the good guys? Certainly not. And thank God they lost the Cold War. They lost because they neither valued nor respected all of the extraordinary blessings of liberty, the freedom to surprise to make mistakes, to invent, to build. As it turns out, you can’t mandate innovation or creativity, just as you can’t force people what to think, what to feel, or what to believe. And we believe those things are certainly connected. in Munich: 'The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe … is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States.' Let’s talk about censorship. Vance reminded Europe that freedom of speech does not only apply to happy and positive speech. I think Americans forget that our Founders wrote the First Amendment to protect ALL speech, but especially what most people would find controversial. I love that Vance slammed the United Kingdom for arresting a man who peacefully protested outside an abortion clinic: And unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners. I looked to Brussels, where EU commission commissars warn citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest the moment they spot what they’ve judged to be, quote, hateful content. Or to this very country where police have carried out raids against citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online as part of, quote, combating misogyny on the Internet. A day of action. I looked to Sweden, where two weeks ago the government convicted a Christian activist for participating in Koran burnings that resulted in his friend’s murder. And as the judge in his case chillingly noted, Sweden’s laws to supposedly protect free expression do not, in fact, grant, and I’m quoting, a free pass to do or say anything without risking offending the group that holds that belief. And perhaps most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons in particular in the crosshairs. A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith Connor, a 51 year old physiotherapist and an army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minute
MIKE PENCE EUROPE DEMOCRACY CENSORSHIP VALUES FREEDOM OF SPEECH
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