Posted on 05/17/2003 5:08:47 AM PDT by Valin
Voltaire is believed to have said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” While not necessarily accurately attributed to Voltaire, this passionate defense of the freedom of speech has been repeated again and again over the years for the eloquent way in which it captures the sheer necessity of ensuring everyone’s right to speak out, no matter how absurd or wrong they are, in order to maintain a free society.
In the United States, citizens’ freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.” This means, crucially, that the government cannot step in and dictate what opinions people may voice, nor can the government punish people for criticizing the government or daring to oppose the government’s policies. It’s a model safeguard of a liberty, perhaps the constitution’s most important.
It is interesting to note, however, that the First Amendment does not state, “Miramax shall accept all film projects proposed to it, no matter how stupid or asinine,” nor does it require the Baseball Hall of Fame to screen Susan Sarandon movies after Sarandon bashes American policy or concert promoters to book the Dixie Chicks after they put down the wartime President.
I hate to break it you Hollywood types, but there is not a single provision in the entire Bill of Rights that states that a producer must hire Sean Penn after he makes an ass of himself defending Iraq. Not a one.
All of this may seem obvious to most readers. After all, the First Amendment, like almost all the rest of the constitution, is a restriction on government power. It is not a prescription for how citizens are to treat each other. But apparently many on the left, particularly residents of Lalaland, are becoming confused.
When, this week, Miramax reportedly dropped financing for a Michael Moore “documentary” called Fahrenheit 911, which will claim that bin Laden was enriched by the Bush family, there were calls of First Amendment violations.
Similar complaints about freedom of speech being curtailed were evoked when television viewers wrote letters to ABC asking that Janeane Garofalo’s upcoming sitcom be ditched because they were tired of her anti-American ranting and didn’t want to see her with her own show. Now Garafolo is saying (in an interview with The Progressive) that Americans “don’t like the First Amendment.”
Let’s get something straight. Freedom of speech is about freedom from government intervention. It has nothing to do with protecting celebrities, or anyone else, from the social consequences of opening their big mouths. Voltaire (or whoever really penned the pithy phrase) was spot on when he waxed eloquent about defending to the death your right to speak, regardless of what you have to say. But he might have been wise to add that “defending to the death your right to say it” doesn’t for one second imply that I have to actually listen to “it” or buy tickets to hear “it” or provide you with a forum to display “it” or financially back “it.” The point is that you are free to express your opinion without a resulting government infringement on your liberty. Beyond that, you’re on your own.
The unfortunate thing about the many recent erroneous complaints of First Amendment violations is that they water down the importance and force of the real meaning of free speech. For example, while Hollywood celebrities are all over the news complaining about their freedom of speech being curtailed because their fans won’t go to their movies or concerts, a slightly comic but ultimately frightening story out of Germany seems to have barely made it on to the media’s radar: according to www.ananova.com, a German man who wanted to protest Gerhard Schroeder’s policies stenciled the words “the Government is crap” onto the windows of his own yellow Volkswagen. The police told him he must remove it or go to jail. In other words, criticize those in power and you get sent to the slammer.
That, my friends, is a real violation of the freedom of speech. Perhaps Michael Moore should make it the subject of his next documentary project. And perhaps he should premiere that documentary in Germany and find out first hand what the real curtailment of free speech is all about.
The American Enterprise Online
Actually, the "Palladium of Freedom" was considered by the Founding Fathers to be the SECOND Amendment protecting the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. There is a quote from one of them that uses almost those exact words (Palladium of Liberty).
If he is so righteous why doesn't he change his name back to Ramon Estevez?
Bookmarked.
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