Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
On the contrary, there are all sorts of laws restricting what it is and is not permissible to say or to print. You are not permitted to publish information which would compromise national security. You are not permitted to stand in a public place and yell "I'm going to kill the President!". You are not permitted to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre merely because you feel like doing so. All these acts will have undesirable consequences for you. No society permits completely unrestricted free speach, and for good reason.
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What Thomas Jefferson said about the Union in his First Inaugural Address could just as well be applied to the subject of book banning:
"If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it."
That being said, I believe you have a point. Information which would compromise national security, such as troop movements during times of war, should not be made public.