[MD] Barbarian attack

[Robert Warlov]

Hi Platt;

The Supreme Court pointed out that there are limits to free speech. It's not
acceptable, for instance,  to shout "fire" in a crowded theater when there
is no fire.  People may get trampled.   It's clear then that speech can have
negative consequences. It is not, nor has it ever been legal in America to
use speech to incite a riot.  Again, the Supreme Court used the term
"fighting words" to describe speech whose purpose was to provoke a violent
response.

History bares out that people who have the right to speak freely against
social ills tend to use that avenue to bring about change without resorting
to violence.  It functions as a pressure valve, but this is usually a
conversation between the government and the governed, not between groups
in society.

While the government is charged with the responsibility to protect free
speech, it is also charged with keeping the peace.

I don't see the 'moral relativism' and the resulting 'death of western
culture'  in this.  That's a bit of hyperbole.

What I do see is that instant communications has suddenly brought all
cultures together and "tolerance" shouted on a crowded planet is less likely
to "incite violence" than words like "barbarians".


Robert W.




On 2/19/06, Michael Hamilton <thethemichael at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Platt,
>
> Your dedication to the value of free speech is admirable. I
> wholeheartedly agree that free speech must include the freedom to
> offend. Censorship of those cartoons would be thoroughly undesirable.
> However, anyone who chooses to publish those cartoons is nonetheless
> bringing a large weight of responsibility upon themselves. Allow me to
> make an analogy:
>
> Your legal entitlement to free speech means that you are free to go
> into a bar, pick out the largest, burliest man, and call his mother a
> fat dirty whore. No government should prevent you from doing that.
> However, you shouldn't act surprised if the man leaves you with a
> broken nose and two very black eyes.
>
> I trust that you can see the point I am making about the cartoons.
> Free speech comes with great responsibility regarding how it is used.
>
> Also, your attack on the value of tolerance is inconsistent with your
> admirable dedication to free speech. Tolerance of conflicting opinions
> is the conerstone of free speech. In fact, the inability of some
> Muslims to tolerate the cartoons is a large part of the problem.
> However, I think you understand that there are always limits to
> tolerance. Anyone who disagrees should see how they react to their
> mother being called a fat dirty whore, or how they react to their
> deity being called a terrorist.
>
> Regards,
> Mike
>
> On 2/15/06, Platt Holden <pholden at davtv.com> wrote:
> > To All:
> >
> > A blatant attack by barbarians on the intellectual value of free speech
> > is now underway in many parts of the world. Yet who among are
> > intellectual elite are speaking out against the mobs who attack Western
> > businesses and embassies over a cartoon? Not many. Instead we hear
> > words of appeasement, such as the U.S State Department's press officer,
> > Janelle Hironimus who said, "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in
> > this manner is not acceptable." So much for free speech which is not
> > free if it does not include the freedom to offend.
> >
> > What we are witnessing is the whirlwind from years of political
> > correctness as codified in university speech codes, supported by
> > decades of preaching with arrogant moral certainty the overriding
> > virtue of tolerance. After all, no one is to blame for anything; each
> > is nothing but a product her culture. And as we all know, no culture
> > can be thought to be superior to any other.
> >
> > In Pirsig's hierarchy of morals, among the highest is the intellectual
> > value of free speech. That more intellectuals are blind to this value,
> > trumpet moral relativism and fail to take to the ramparts to defend
> > free speech against assaults by barbarians is the shame of our time.
> > When histories write the postmortem on the West, this will be among the
> > causes of death.
> >
> > Platt
> >
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