Political Comment

I know there is a common belief that the freedom of speech enjoyed by Americans is an absolute-- that anyone is free to say anything at any time. Of course that isn't true, as established by a long history of court decisions placing certain legitimate limits on expressions that carry some danger to the general well-being (most famously: prohibiting yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater). If you look at the First Amendment, which is where the Constitutional protection resides, and look at it in its totality (also encompassing freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, freedom of the press and right to petition the government), it should be evident that the main purpose of such protection is to allow for open and unfettered expression of one's views, especially in relation to matters of public interest and import. But clearly, this is intended to prompt debate, not shut it off. The ultimate goal of such debate is to arrive at some common ground on what's true or worth trying. It bothers me when I see freedom of speech invoked to shut down debate, whether implicitly or explicitly. In the current health care debate, I've heard defenses of people saying the most outrageous things (that reform equals the Holocaust is the most blatant example) while complaining that when someone counters those bizarre accusations they are somehow depriving the original speaker of their rights. Nonsense. Part of the point of having a debate is so that bad or faulty or misguided ideas can be countered with reasoned, thoughtful counterarguments. That is not to imply that the latter can't be represented on both sides of the discussion-- but in that instance you don't hear one side or the other complaining that in voicing an alternative view their counterpart has somehow violated their rights. That only seems to happen when someone wants to go off the deep end without being called on it. That sort of attitude does nothing to advance the democratic process; quite the opposite, in fact, it is almost the definition of authoritarianism (which, not so surprisingly is also reflected in people brandishing guns at town hall meetings), and a way more frightening tilt towards the likes of Nazism or Soviet communism than anything included in the health care reform package currently under discussion.