Quote:
Originally Posted by SameOldStory
So the question is still "Does freedom of speech trump all other considerations?"
I'm not talking about the repression of speech. And I'm not talking about the right to scream FIRE in a crowded theater.
I'm talking about the lack of tact in going before a gathering of Jew and saying that the holocaust was a necessary thing. Or standing up at a "Parent and Teachers Association" and extolling the benefits of NAMBLA. Or saying how the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was just a misunderstanding, and that the Rape of Nanking was a well intentioned attempt at solving the population problem. |
As repugnant as I find all the cited positions, the US Constitution prohibits government from silencing unpopular speech. Otherwise, you get into certain opinions being criminalized ("hate speech" laws), creating "crimethink".
Far as I can tell, a free society will not stay that way if opinions can be punished by law. Inciting violence or harassment are legally actionable, and should be, since those acts infringe on the rights of others.
Would you rather have a "free speech for me, but not for thee" scenario in which only certain views are legal to express, and a shift in political climate could easily render your beliefs crimes?