When I began following free speech controversies, I was a First Amendment absolutist. Now I’m something less comfortable. I still think free speech is a good idea, certainly better than alternatives I’ve come across, but I’ve learned that everyone has a line that can’t be crossed, a word that sticks in the craw, an image that feels like a kick to the gut. The First Amendment, bless its little heart, always eventually lets us down (self-protection is innate, tolerance an acquired taste), so how can I not be bothered by its limitations?

This is a running log of arguments over free speech – some silly, some funny, some hard -- because free speech is all about argument. Being able to speak our mind makes us feel good and it's essential to real democracy and fairness. Yet, in the end, one of the best reasons to keep our speech rights intact is that we miss them when they’re gone.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

On the cover of Rolling Stone

Is the argument over Rolling Stone's cover photo of Tsarnaev jr.perhaps a way of deflecting our anxiety over our inability to ferret out murderous intentions in our midst, despite unprecedented government surveillance of our everyday activities, which are supposed to do just that; i.e. make us safe?  Wouldn't be the first time.
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