of an opinion written for the majority of the US Supreme Court justices
in the case of Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., a case which involved the issue
of “free speech,” Justice Lewis F. Powell said:
Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea. However
pernicious an opinion may seem, we depend for its correction not on the
conscience of judges and juries but on the competition of other ideas.
Let me tell ya, I found Justice Powell's words thrilling. Can you think
of anything that more succinctly sums up what America used to be all about?
I can't.
Now please notice. I said “used to be.” Not “is.” And that's because
I think we talk a good game where the right of free speech is concerned.
But we don't play it.
A good case in point is what happened to Jimmy the Greek who had made
a perfectly valid point during a sports event some years ago to the effect
that black slaves had been bred by their owners for strength and stamina.
He was canned by CBS within 24 hours.
And who can forget what the Los Angeles Dodgers did to Al Campanis for
exercising his right of free speech. Clumsily, perhaps, but not intentionally
vicious, I don't believe.
And more recently, pro golferFuzzy Zoeller lost the sponsorship of Walmart
because of something he said about Tiger Woods. Something that even Mr.
Woods himself shrugged off.
But there's one saving grace to all the hypocrisy that surrounds the
issue of free speech. Ultimately, when the chips are really down,
when the issue involved is of the most crucial nature, free speech in this
country does prevail, speech police notwithstanding. God Bless America.
Think about it. |
