'Now's the time to stand up. Now's the time for courage,' Schneider said in a new interview
Comedian Rob Schneider talks about his new book
Comedian Rob Schneider tells Fox News Digital about the message of his new book, "You Can Do It!"
Though actor Rob Schneider's new book comes packed with humor and raucous stories of his time at "Saturday Night Live" and working on Adam Sandler movies, it also comes with a serious message for all Americans who care about the future of their country.
Titled after the comedian’s most famous movie catchphrase, his book "You Can Do It!" is a plea for Americans to vigorously defend their First Amendment rights, as he believes they are under assault from leftist, Marxist authoritarians using the levers of the media, Big Tech, and the government’s COVID-19 response to squash diversity of thought in this country.
"Now's the time to stand up. Now's the time for courage. I mean, this government and our freedoms require something – eternal vigilance. Or we'll lose it," Schneider told Fox News Digital.
Rob Schneider's new book "You Can Do It!" implores Americans to vigorously defend their free speech rights from the left. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Out later this month, "You Can Do It!" draws from Schneider’s experiences as a boundary-pushing comedian and actor to make the case that Americans shouldn’t be afraid to speak their minds, especially when confronted by powerful woke entities which see free speech as a threat to their power and control.
"Unfortunately, my book is timely, and I mean that because it's unfortunate that we need to have to talk about and reinforce what this nation is – one of its principal foundational beliefs – which is that, freedom of speech is the First Amendment, not third, not fourth, not even second."
Drawing from the country's historical roots, the actor told Fox News, "Even before guns. Our government, our Founding Fathers realized that the real weapon to prevent tyranny, and this nation turning to tyranny – even more important than guns – was unfettered free speech."
In addition to the revealing asides about his relationships with legendary comedians like David Spade and Chris Farley, some of the most compelling parts of Schneider’s book are his brief profiles on famous 20th century American comedians, some of whom risked their careers, and even lives at points, to make jokes that were offensive and unpopular to the predominant culture at the time.
They bolster one of the book’s major points that comedians have, and continue to be, at the forefront of defending Americans’ First Amendment rights by always pushing the envelope in what can be said or thought in the public square. He writes that this instinct is especially important today when the media and other powerful corporations have been "captured" by liberal beliefs that loathe dissent.
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Rob Schneider visits SiriusXM Studios on June 20, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images))
He told Fox News about this current threat to free speech, stating it’s alive and well in the Democratic Party and in Vice President Kamala Harris’ agenda for the country.
"And that is under attack by these, you know, Marxists in our government and I say Marxist in the traditional meaning of it. We are dealing with – Kamala Harris is a Marxist. Democrats don't watch free speech… Our system is corrupt, and if you want it to continue to get more corrupt then f-----g vote for Kamala," he said.
"At what point do we have to take responsibility and say ‘Enough’? Or unless, we are just going to give it over," he said, adding that his book represents him saying "Enough."
"I'm one of those people. I wrote a book. I'm doing what I can daily. I'm telling people if they want to listen to it, they can listen to it," he said.
Schneider, whose book also describes his upbringing in America by a mother who fled the Philippines for a better life, urged Americans to never take for granted the rare privilege of living in a free country.
"As I say in my book, there’s been 108 billion people that have lived according to modern science. Very few of them have had the great luxury of living in a free society. So maybe it's just an exception. Maybe this is just a blip in the history of humanity, and it won’t continue."
He told Fox News he’s "hopeful" that it’s not a blip, but declared, "people have to stand up now."
"You Can Do It!" is available at major book retailers on Sept. 24
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
