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[Prev|Next|Index] Tue, Feb 20, 1996 Melissa Simmons
FreeSpeech
By Melissa Simmons
Our nation has always embraced free speech but with a caveat: we
are free to talk of what we want as long as it doesn╣t threaten
national security. During the McCarthy Era, free speech was
significantly curtailed by abuse of this caveat. A few people
with hunger for power decided to prosecute supposed and real
communists on this basis. Anyone learning about it years later
can not fail to be horrified by this abuse of power and the
limits placed on free speech. The threat was imaginary, created
by those who thought to use it for their own promotion.
If the McCarthy era taught us anything, it is that free speech
can be threatened, and even curtailed, by the imagination of
those with political power. Citizens should be very leery of
arguments that claim that free speech ought to be curtailed for
the well-being of our nation.
However, I am not claiming that the Telecom Reform Bill, with its
limits on free speech, will repeat the horrors of the McCarthy
Era; in this age of electronic information one hopes that witch
hunt will never be repeated. One historian I spoke with recently
pointed out that it was freely distributed information, in
particular a television broadcast of the McCarthy hearings, that
ended McCarthyism. McCarthy╣s bullying tactics so disgusted
television viewers that his rein of destruction was finished.
History teaches us two important things about freedom of speech.
First, we should never allow our government to limit our right to
free speech without close analysis of the motivations of those
imposing these limitations and the effects of these limitations.
As the McCarthy Era taught us, power is a strong motivator for
the actions of some, and fear is an effective tool for holding
onto that power. Secondly, we should be overjoyed by the
existence and popularity of the Internet. Ironically perhaps, the
existence of free speech is the greatest tool for defending free
speech. Just as the television showed U.S. citizens the real
character of McCarthy and his motivations, the Internet provides
an excellent source of information on our political leaders. It
is precisely this kind of tool, used as we are using it today,
that can effectively curtail the actions of those who wish to
limit our freedoms.
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