Slip Sliding Away

Implicit in the First Amendment is a fundamental belief that the governed are far more capable than the government of distinguishing truth from falsehood and that the government’s role is not to regulate the content of the marketplace but to ensure it remains open to all ideas; those true and not… radical or conventional.

That these legislators, their constituents or lobbyists are offended by the content of various stories, opinion pieces or documentaries published or aired by Al Jazeera is of no constitutional moment.  To the contrary, information deemed by some to be offensive propaganda is to others relevant and probative of issues to be contested and resolved in an open and free society.

To be sure, it is the friction between conflicting narratives and opinion that furthers the reach of freedom not dampens it. It is the conflict between voices that not only empowers those who partake in the debate or listen to it but ultimately strengthens society as a whole.

Under the First Amendment, people may elect to embrace or promote “radical” anti-American, anti-Israeli or even anti-Semitic commentary or opinion; it is a choice left to them and them alone.  Neither the government nor any of its minions have the constitutional authority to limit access to information not in itself otherwise prohibited by law.--SLC

This is a first-rate overview of some of the historical First Amendment battles in the U.S.  During our time, when a lunatic president and his uneducated followers, an acquiescent Congress and a nation hypnotized by anti-Russian propaganda are working overtime to silence dissent--well, we must come to grips with the idea that important freedoms are slipping away.


TS