6/3/2013
CAN FREE SPEECH AND THE LAW COLLIDE IN THE UNITED STATES
I have always wondered if there were limits to what can be said under the First Amendment to The Constitution of The United States – - you remember – - The amendment that is supposed to guarantee freedom of speech?
If what I am reading in an article on “Politico” is correct, there may be some very stringent limits – - or if there aren’t now there soon may be some very strict limits – - on what can and cannot be said via public media – - you know – - stuff like blogs and websites and probably a lot of other places as well – - maybe! Who knows what is liable to happen in times like these?
O.K., the article I am reading is suggesting that The Fed might use civil rights laws to “clamp down” on offensive and inflammatory speech about Islam – - and I can understand that. I think I can understand that. Maybe I can understand that! I might need somebody smarter than myself to help me understand that.
I am wondering if what I think this article is saying to me is correct and that the government can actually punish someone for saying nasty things about a religion because it might be considered as a violation of civil rights – - does that also mean that (1) Some of the hate bloggers have to stop calling us Liberals, Democrats and Progressives awful names and saying all manner of nasty things about us – - and – - (2) Does it also mean that us Liberals, Progressives and Democrats have to stop saying nasty things about Right Wingers or other folks whose politics may differ from our own?
Does it all mean that we might all live to see the day when we dare not express any negative thoughts on our blogs or anywhere on the internet or by any other means?
Does what I am reading on the “Politico” article also mean that civil rights law can now be used by the government to stop dissidents from criticizing things they don’t necessarily agree with – - and does this mean that new limitations are being proscribed for what “Freedom Of Speech” is and is not in this country?
Does it mean that any of our Constitutional Rights might be infringed for the sake of political correctness or am I reading something out of context about all this stuff? I am not above being wrong about things after all – - I am only human – - so somebody please set me straight about all this, O.K.?
It is my earnest desire that all you wonderful folks who read “American Liberal Times” come onto the comments section here and leave comments for moderation and tell me what you think about all this stuff because it seems kind of important – - fairly important – - really important to me and I need somebody who is smarter than myself to help me understand what is happening here.
Read More about all this ( HERE ).
Related articles:
- Internet Free Speech Is Under Threat (grumpyelder.com)
