Sep 1, 2008 11:22 pm US/Central
In The Know: Violence Isn't 'Free Speech'
(WCCO)
Around 10,000 protestors of various stripes have and will descend on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. They are here, they say, to be heard. Don Shelby said, their freedom of speech is guaranteed.
I find myself, as a defender of the First Amendment, in a quandary from time to time. I take seriously the notion that all citizens have the right to be heard and express their opinion. That, sometimes, puts me in the position of arguing for the protection of speech I dislike... abhor.
It is no trick to protect speech with which we agree. The real test is protecting that speech with which we disagree. But, you can let me out when people break windows and set fires and throw urine on police officers as a form of speech they say is protected.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, in reference to free expression, "The right to swing my fist ends where another man's nose begins."
How is a person exercising his right to free speech when he shouts down another trying to be heard? Say whatever you wish about this country and its candidates, and let those words fend for themselves in the marketplace of ideas. But, leave your matches and your urine at home.
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