All by Myself

Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself.
It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime
--Justice Potter Stewart

The test of democracy is freedom of criticism
--David Ben-Gurion

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise,
we don't believe in it at all
--Noam Chomsky

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy,
it is democracy
--Walter Cronkite
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What follows is the transcript of a correspondence between myself and a die-hard Obama supporter whose acquaintance I have recently made. What is your opinion on the two positions?

My correspondent is extremely accomplished, erudite and liberal in his thinking. He has founded non-profit agencies to assist minorities on both the East and West Coast. But he could not countenance a major news outlet reporting on Georgia State Rep. Broun's suggestion that Obama's declaration for a "civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded [as the military]" is socialistic.


[E.]: Where does this crap come from? The media shouldn't give idiots like this a voice.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27655039

[L.]: I believe you're wrong, E. Bad things thrive in an environment of secrecy. This article reports on the words of an elected U.S. Representative, Paul Broun (GA). If you silence him, you are every bit as Brownshirt as Hitler's bullies. If his words are outrageous, let them wither in the light of democracy. This is the job of a free press.

Give your fellow citizens enough credit to determine what they like and do not like. they are the one who voted Obama into office, all. Food for thought.

[E.]: History has seen the effects of this venom. The stuff that was spewed before the assassinations of Malcolm X, JFK, RFK, MLK aroused cowards who plotted to silence our best & brightest. In protecting the life of President Obama, we can err on the side of a free press protecting similar cowards like Broun. Obama’s protection trumps Broun’s freedom to spew & ignite.

[L.] You can't blackout an elected Representative and still call yourself a democracy.

Just because the press might put a gag order on all he says, as you suggest, doesn't mean he is not saying the things is saying. Dialog is the key to a vibrant democracy. We deserve the right to hear, and oppose, opinions of elected officials, don't you think? This country is strong enough to sustain that.

I do not want some editor deciding for me what elected officials I may and may not hear, just because I may be offended. That is patronization of the highest order. We are not juveniles.

Freedom of the press is part of the Bill of Rights. I don't want that rolled back by or for anybody. This is not Nazi Germany.