Comments on: Our Exceptional First Amendment http://techliberation.com/2008/06/12/our-exceptional-first-amendment/ Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:51:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: D. Cesar http://techliberation.com/2008/06/12/our-exceptional-first-amendment/comment-page-1/#comment-54986 D. Cesar Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:02:25 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10920#comment-54986 <p>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>"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. <em>Fahrenheit 451</em> and <em>1984</em> 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?</p> 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?

]]> By: D. Cesar http://techliberation.com/2008/06/12/our-exceptional-first-amendment/comment-page-1/#comment-42302 D. Cesar Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:02:25 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10920#comment-42302 <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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. <em>Fahrenheit 451</em> and <em>1984</em> 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?</p> 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?

]]> By: Franco Furger http://techliberation.com/2008/06/12/our-exceptional-first-amendment/comment-page-1/#comment-54985 Franco Furger Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:27:15 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10920#comment-54985 <p>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.</p> 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.

]]> By: Franco Furger http://techliberation.com/2008/06/12/our-exceptional-first-amendment/comment-page-1/#comment-42298 Franco Furger Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:27:15 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10920#comment-42298 <p>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.</p> 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.

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