"The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech is rooted in the belief that in a competition of ideas, good ideas generally crowd out bad ideas. It assumes that people are basically rational and skilled in recognizing the better argument when they hear it. And it presupposes that dialogue is dominated by real people with an interest in ideas, not by corporations and wealthy individuals hiding behind PACs and other creations, using trickery, appeals to base prejudice, and outright lies to gather gullible people to their side in the interest of commerce."
Somewhere in high school we learned that free speech is one of our rights as citizens, a hallmark of American democracy. Or is it? Journalist Ellis Cose has studied this concept across decades of our nation's history. In The Short Life and Curious Death of Free Speech in America he shows us how our concept may be way off the mark. What we learned or remember may be inaccurate. But, more importantly, everything about the world has changed so much in the centuries since the First Amendment was news it may need serious updating. Consider the impact of technology.
"Also, our approach to freedom of speech was crafted at a time when no one imagined dialogue would be dominated by the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and other apps that specialize in bursts of short, superficial communication."
Then there's the role of money. The gap between the wealthy and the rest us has grown obscenely huge since the eighteenth century. And now that corporations have the same rights as people the wealthy and their politicians dominate the narrative to the detriment of everyone else.
And there's the increasing polarization between groups in which parties (say the Republicans and the Democrats) believe that people on the other side are not only wrong on an issue, but are dangerously evil. Scientific knowledge is considered just another opinion. Hate speech and white supremecy are normalized.
Cose doesn't gift readers with a feel good solutions chapter, probably since the issue is so complex. But that does not absolve us of the duty to do our best to create a free speech that takes into account all the ways in which our nation and world have changed and works for the marginalized and not just the marginalizers.
On a purrrsonal note, it is another picture perfect Maine autumn day. Eugene and I went on a leaf peeping road trip. The foliage is gorgeous, the reds and yellows especially vibrant. At a yard sale we found me an adorable Squishmallow dog.
MILESTONE: This is the 2,900th book I have reviewed since I started this blog in August 2011. I believe I can hit 3,000 in 2026 barring unforseen circumstances.
Oh, yeah, I've scheduled my second tattoo for tomorrow, bankrolled by birthday money.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
No comments:
Post a Comment