Page 185 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

1 | Government Censorsh p and Freedom of Speech

have a great deal in common. As more people from different ethnic, racial, and
religious backgrounds live in greater proximity to one another, the likelihood
of disagreement greatly increases. When confronted with words and images
that are deeply offensive, or threatening to the people or ideals we cherish, few
may be willing to take the position, often attributed to the French philosopher,
Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right
to say it.” 1

a hisTory oF amBivaLEnCE
Freedom of expression is often invoked as one of the defining liberties of
American democracy. When we take a closer look at our nation’s history, though,
another story is revealed. We like freedom of speech when it allows us to voice
our own views. However, when it comes to those with whom we disagree, or
those who are generating words and images that we feel pose a danger to our
children, our community, or our nation, Americans have a long history of sus-
pending freedom of expression in exchange for comfort, or security. While it
may seem justifiable, at times, to curtail certain extreme forms of expression,
many warn that once we begin making exceptions to individual liberty, we are
in danger of sacrificing one of the most fundamental principles of our nation.
Benjamin Franklin himself cautioned that “those who would give up an essen-
tial liberty to purchase a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor
security.” Balancing the rights of the individual with the needs of the group is
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a complex challenge, and the history of our nation reveals that we continue to
grapple with finding this balance.
American ambivalence about freedom of speech dates back to our earliest
years as a nation. Ironically, less than 10 years after adding the First Amendment
to the Constitution, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. These
laws were designed to curb sedition—criticism of the government—during a
period when the United States was engaged in a policy dispute with France.
Under this law, anyone who criticized President Adams, or any other aspect of
the U.S. government, was subject to steep fines and jail time. Nearly two dozen
journalists were arrested and their voices silenced under the Sedition Act. When
Thomas Jefferson, a staunch free speech advocate, was elected president several
years later, he repealed the law. But the precedent was set. From then on, nearly
every time our country has faced domestic or international tensions, efforts have
been made to suppress dissent.

PeoPle in history
One of the most important historical figures in the development of freedom of speech is
John Milton, the famous seventeenth-century British writer and political philosopher. Writing
in opposition to the harsh censorship that he and other writers of the period experienced
at the hands of Parliament, he published a powerful essay on the importance of freedom of