Free Speech And Other Myths
When I watch "The Daily Show" on Youtube, I have a hard time to understand what Jon Stewart actually meant whenever some nut jobs put a *beep* -sound in there every view seconds.
Since this bothers me a lot, I looked what this free speech myth is that everyone is talking about - and I found out it says this:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So can I sue Comedy Central for some million bucks now for breaching the law or not?
I agree 100%
"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic."
Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr. [8 March, 1841 – 6 March, 1935]
U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932
Too often the above statement is misquoted by omitting the word "falsely".
One might think that even in a democracy, that using speech that constitutes outright libel or slander or to incite a call to arms that leads to rioting and violence in the streets, should be restricted. In that context I agree in most instances. All freedoms should be tempered with civil responsibility rather than totally unrestricted. This can be done without trampling the Constitution, if there's anything still left of that shredded document.
Legitimate free speech is feared most of all.
The US government was founded as the result of a revolution against corruption under another famous George.
It's interesting that when a new government is formed by revolution against corruption, one of the first things it does is make revolution against the new government a crime, even if for the very same reasons as before!
But what can be done in the case of a government so totally corrupt and deaf to the voice of "We The People" that it becomes unbearable?
In the early days, We The People could take up arms against a corrupt regime - that's the purpose for the 2nd amendment - and why the government wants to disarm the population - not because of gun accidents.
Gone are the days when the oppressed people could depose their corrupt governments using the same weapons possessed by the government. The corrupt governments of today would simply turn their WMD upon their own citizens before giving up the ghost of their to-the-bone corruption. Mark those words for the future.
Arrival in Washington these days is proof of corruption in itself or they never would have made it. Voting doesn't work because the greedy corporate Nazis who nearly control all government policy will never sponsor an honest politician (talk about an endangered species!) from whom they cannot profit.
Those corporations simply dangle their sponsored political puppets in front of us every 4 years and allow us the pretense of selecting our leaders while they continue to manipulate the government in the background and nothing ever really changes for the better - except for them.
Among the first stages of a corrupt regime takeover is faux government manipulated news, suppression of legitimate free speech and fabricated or exaggerated excuses to suspend civil liberties and disarm the people against its corruption under the false pretense of "national security" - security which their corruption jeopardised in the first place and Americans at home and abroad suffer for because of it.
It is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
Hermann Goering
Nazi Reichmarshall and Luftwaffe-Chief
At the Nuremberg Trials after World War II
Abraham Lincoln, 16th US president, seems to have considered this problem when he said:
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
and
This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.
The most severe crime in the land is attempting to depose a corrupt regime.
The United States of Amerika is now a bona fide, dues paying, card carrying fascist regime worse than any in prior history under the worst leader in history and worsening by the day.
I wonder if Bush and his neo-conmen will use a terror attack as an excuse to proclaim a national emergency and cling to power. Any excuse will do. After all, his god, Adolf Hitler did.
"Congress shall make no law (OK - In that case, we'll just do it - to hell with writing a law then) respecting an establishment of religion (unless they believe in the prophesies of mass murdering tribal Monkey Men), or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (like blowing people up in its name - that's OK); or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press (unless it's the truth); or the right of the people peaceably (no T-shirt with patriotic quotes allowed - they can incite violence) to assemble (with the usual impotent effect - and far away from anyone who matters ever seeing or hearing it), and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.(YAWN and furthermore, YAWN)"
Free speech today is a bigger myth than it's ever been before.
