Free speech triumphs again
Anyone trying to couch the Don Imus firing as a threat to free speech (such as this guy that Jeff links to) needs to realize that, in fact, it represents the ultimate triumph of free speech.
I really couldn't give a lick about Don Imus or his radio show, but this whole debacle fascinates me just because it proves how well the system works and how wonderful the First Amendment truly is.
Follow the progression with me, if you will (I may be missing steps, since I honestly haven't followed it that closely):
Whether CBS made the right decision or not is up for debate. And it may debated, freely, because the whole time we keep talking, guess what? The federal, state, and local governments will do nothing to stop us. They can't.
Free speech 1, state-sponsored censorship 0. Game over.
(Inspired by a rant suffered by Aaron last night and a brief chat with Ploeger this morning. Post was written hastily and may be incoherent. Not a source of the Recommended Daily Amount of riboflavin.)
Song lyric of the day:
"Heads down, thumbs up
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shit-faced, just laid to waste
If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight"
- the New Pornographers, Use It
I really couldn't give a lick about Don Imus or his radio show, but this whole debacle fascinates me just because it proves how well the system works and how wonderful the First Amendment truly is.
Follow the progression with me, if you will (I may be missing steps, since I honestly haven't followed it that closely):
- Don Imus, a host on a radio program owned by a private company, exercises his right to free speech and says something stupid. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- CBS exercises its right to free speech by suspending Imus while considering harsher courses of action. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- Al Sharpton and many others exercise their rights to free speech by calling for Imus to be fired. Others exercise their right to free speech by saying the suspension is enough. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- The Rutgers women's basketball team exercises their right to free speech and speaks openly about their opinion on Imus's words. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- Imus continues to exercise his right to free speech by offering an apology. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- Ultimately, CBS decides the thing to do is express their right as an independent corporation and terminate Imus and end his radio program. The federal, state, and local governments do nothing.
- Imus continues to have the right to express himself freely and openly, only he will no longer be paid to do it. And the federal, state, and local governments will do nothing.
Whether CBS made the right decision or not is up for debate. And it may debated, freely, because the whole time we keep talking, guess what? The federal, state, and local governments will do nothing to stop us. They can't.
Free speech 1, state-sponsored censorship 0. Game over.
(Inspired by a rant suffered by Aaron last night and a brief chat with Ploeger this morning. Post was written hastily and may be incoherent. Not a source of the Recommended Daily Amount of riboflavin.)
Song lyric of the day:
"Heads down, thumbs up
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shit-faced, just laid to waste
If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight"
- the New Pornographers, Use It
3 Comments:
I completely agree. I can lament a culture where, in the words of my friend Radley, "everyone who says anything racially sensitive has to parade his bare ass before Al Sharpton, beg for forgiveness, then still get not only a severe paddling, but no forgiveness to boot," and where the Rutgers basketball team can appear on ESPN and on Oprah call for Imus's firing and then accept his apology the very nexy day after he is fired. And I can also lament a culture where people like me who haven't ever listened to Imus -- who may well be just as bad as everyone says he is -- and still feel like I have an opinion worth sharing. But it would be erroneous to direct those complaints at a violation of free speech, because there isn't one.
I know it seems like I must have been drunk when I wrote the previous comment, but it's 9:30am and as far as I can tell I'm sober...
Sobriety is a curable condition.
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