Our Exceptional First Amendment

by on June 12, 2008 · 4 comments

Lest any of us forget how lucky we are to live in a country where our speech rights are (largely) protected from oppressive government laws… Adam Liptak of the New York Times reminds us today in a wonderful front-page article: “Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech.”

SHARE: 4 comments

About Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He previously served as President of The Progress & Freedom Foundation, as Director of Telecommunications Studies at the Cato Institute, and as a Fellow in Economic Policy at the Heritage Foundation. He is the author or editor of six books on technology and media policy and also writes a weekly column for Forbes called "Technologies of Freedom." Thierer earned his bachelor's degree in political science and journalism at Indiana University and received his master's degree in international business management and trade theory at the University of Maryland. His passions in life (besides technology and liberty, of course) are fast cars, fine cigars, and good beer.

Read more articles by Adam Thierer.

  • Franco Furger

    Allow me a bit of irony here: you mean as in the case of the Danish cartoons a few years back? Talking to my friend in the US at the time I couldn’t believe my ears: the proud US advocates of free speech advising the Europeans to moderate themselves… What a sad day was that. I don’t remember the US media going on the barricade on that occasion, either, but I would be happy to stand correct.

  • Franco Furger

    Allow me a bit of irony here: you mean as in the case of the Danish cartoons a few years back? Talking to my friend in the US at the time I couldn’t believe my ears: the proud US advocates of free speech advising the Europeans to moderate themselves… What a sad day was that. I don’t remember the US media going on the barricade on that occasion, either, but I would be happy to stand correct.

  • D. Cesar

    Freedom of speech is required in a liberal democracy, and I don’t mean liberal in the modern political sense, but in the 19th century sense of unbeholden to tyrannical authority.

    Welcome to the United States. Prepare to be offended. Part of tolerance is the ability to disagree with others while allowing their views to be expressed, even if you find their views offensive and subversive.

    “People who are willing to sacrifice their freedom for security don’t deserve their freedom at all.” (I’m paraphrasing here.) This goes especially for freedom of speech. Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are about worlds where offensive content is censored, everyone is kept placated, and people live in oppresive regimes. But at least no one is offended, right?

  • D. Cesar

    Freedom of speech is required in a liberal democracy, and I don’t mean liberal in the modern political sense, but in the 19th century sense of unbeholden to tyrannical authority.

    Welcome to the United States. Prepare to be offended. Part of tolerance is the ability to disagree with others while allowing their views to be expressed, even if you find their views offensive and subversive.

    “People who are willing to sacrifice their freedom for security don’t deserve their freedom at all.” (I’m paraphrasing here.) This goes especially for freedom of speech. Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are about worlds where offensive content is censored, everyone is kept placated, and people live in oppresive regimes. But at least no one is offended, right?

Previous post:

Next post: