######################################################################## FREEDOM OF SPEECH UNDER SIEGE by Jarret B. Wollstein ######################################################################## ``I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'' Francois Voltaire ``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.'' - First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. No right is more fundamental than freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech, we cannot express our individuality, decry social injustice, pursue an artistic vision, investigate scientific truth, practice religion, or criticize government. Take away freedom of speech and you cripple personal self-development, undermine truth, and you abolish political liberty. Although freedom of speech can be inhibited by intolerant individuals and groups, it can only be destroyed by the government. If Christian Fundamentalists demand that PLAYBOY magazine be removed from store shelves, that is not censorship. Others are free to demand just as forcefully that PLAYBOY be kept on shelves, and merchants can reject the Fundamentalist's demands. But when the government sends in police to close down bookstores and imprison their owners, that is censorship. When the government turns it s guns on peaceful citizens, argument ends and tyranny begins. Censorship is the use of government force to regulate what citizens may say, read, or see. Censorship conjures up images of critics of government being assaulted and jailed, newspapers and TV stations being compelled to report government propaganda as news, creative artists and musicians furtively performing in dark cellars, and storm trooper burning books and magazines. Censorship is the handmaiden of a police state. For over 200 years, the vast majority of Americans are abandoning tolerance of free expres sion and dissent. Censorship is spreading like a cancer across the land. THE RISE OF CENSORSHIP The 1980's witnessed the rise of a powerful Christian Fundamentalist movement in the U.S. A major goal of the movement is to ``purify'' America by repression of ``anti-Christian'' and ``un-American'' activities including recreational drug use, nonmarital sex, nudity, homosexuality, social dissent, drinking, and ``obscene'' speech. Ironically America's bastions of liberalism, the colleges and universities, were simultaneously pursuing their own authoritarian agendas. In the name of ``diversity'' many colleges and universities have banned ``politically incorrect'' speech. The authoritarian- conservatives want to put you in jail if you are a homosexual, a black drug user, or a sexually active woman. The authoritarian-liberals want to punish you if you offend homosexuals, blacks, or women. Many Americans still do support freedom of speech and expression - but at present the champions of freedom are mostly politically unorganized and weak. There are many battlefields in the war on freedom of speech. We will consider the issue of pornography in some detail, and deal with others more briefly. SEX, PORNOGRAPHY & OBSCENITY The 1990 ``Comprehensive Crime Act'' makes mere possession of three or more items of ``child pornography'' punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. ``Child pornography'' now includes any ``lascivious exhibition of the genitals or public areas''. Commenting on a similar Ohio law which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, dissenting Justice Brennan warned that ``a family friend could be prosecuted for having photographs of the friend's children playing in a bathtub. Likewise `pictures of toples s bathers at a Mediterranean beach', Michelangelo's nude statue of David, or the `depictions of nude children on the friezes that adorn our courtroom' could be deemed `lewd exhibition' or a `graphic focus' on the genitals.'' [Ruth Marcus, ``Justices Broaden Curb on Child Pornography,'' Washington Post, April 19, 1991.] RICO statutes and other ``anti-porn'' laws have given the government the power to seize (without indictment of trial) all of the personal and business assets of anyone accused of selling any ``pornographic'' publications. That is exactly what happened to Dennis and Barbara Pryba of Virginia. In October, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the confiscation of all of their business assets totalling over $1 million, because three of the thousands of tapes they rented in their family video store were judged ``pornographic''. Under the ``Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act'' of 1988, distributors of magazines and films depicting any nude adults are also subject to total asset confiscation, if they fail to comply with the impossible requirement of maintaining all current addresses, phone numbers, ages, etc. for all persons depicted - forever. This law puts publishers of any magazine depicting nudity in jeopardy - from nudist magazines, to art magazines, to PLAYBOY and PENTHOUSE. Since there is no clear legal criteria f or pornography, possession or sale of anything sexual is now dangerous. Movie producers and distributors, bookstore owners, rap musicians, theater managers, and even museum curators are all subject to draconian fines and imprisonment. The issue is not whether or not some depictions of sex are offensive to some people. Rather, the question is: who decides what you have a right to read, see, and hear? Do you decide or do people in government decide for you? Once censorship is initiated, the list of potential offenders becomes endless. According to CNN News (10/19/90), 350 anti-obscenity bills are now pending in 46 states. GOVERNMENT SECRECY Increasingly the government is cloaking its activities in secrecy. As the government becomes more authoritarian, it understandably does not want the citizenry to find out what it is up to. the 1966 Freedom of Information Act gave American citizens access to many government files but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that there has been extensive foot-dragging by government agencies regarding compliance with citizen requests under the Act. During the Iraq war, the military enforced the most comprehensive new management in U.S. history. soldiers were forbidden to talk to the media without approval and supervision by military censors. Journalists were prohibited from conducting independent news gathering, and all images of allied dead and wounded were banned. Even within the government, there has been an enormous expansion of censorship of its own employees and agents. Federal employees with access to ``sensitive compartmented information'' are required to agree to pre-publication review of anything they write for the rest of their lives, with criminal penalties if they violate the agreement. Four million government employees are covered by this Directive. THE WAR ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH There are many other battlefields in the war for freedom of speech, a war which advocates of freedom are losing. POLITICALLY CORRECT SPEECH: Over 250 U.S. colleges and universities have enacted speech codes prohibiting the utterance of any ``offensive'' racial or sexual remarks. Penalties for violations range from reprimands, to mandatory ``sensitivity sessions'', to expulsion. Prohibited speech at the University of Connecticut includes ``the use of derogatory names'', ``inconsiderate jokes'', ``misdirected laughter'', and ``conspicuous exclusion from conversation''. PC codes even cover political views and scientific investigations. At some universities, professors who oppose Affirmative Action quotas or who investigate psychological differences between men and women have been forced to keep quiet or resign. MUZZLING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: In January, 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the power of high-school administrators to totally control what students may say or publish. Writing for a majority of the Court, Justice Byron White stated: ``A school need not tolerate student speech that is inconsistent with its `basic educational mission'.'' The Court's decision upheld censorship of a discussion of divorce and teen pregnancy in the student paper at Missouri's Hazelwood East High School. DRUG TREASON: In several drafts of the 1990 Omnibus Crime Bill (deleted from the final bill), verbal opposition to the War on Drugs would have been considered treason, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. PRESERVING FREEDOM OF SPEECH Freedom of speech is under siege. Liberal and conservative authoritarians are firmly in control of their government, and they are united in their hostility to free speech. Preservation of freedom of speech is vital to preserving our individual liberty and our future as a free nation. When sexual images and expression are made a crime, we are robbed of an essential part of our humanity. When government is allowed to conduct its affairs in secret, we lose control of the government, and it starts to control us. When science is sacrificed to politics, progress is crippled. When our campuses become fountainheads of censorship and regimentation, our future is in jeopardy. And when we lose our freedom to speak out and resolve our differences peacefully, violence becomes inevitable. For over 200 years America has stood for liberty and the pursuit of individual happiness. It would be a tragic irony if the 1991 bi-centennial of the Bill of Rights marked the end of free speech in America. America desperately needs a new generation of patriots for liberty - men and women of courage who will stand up and be at least as vocal, competent, and effective at defending freedom, as freedom's enemies have become at destroying it. In the closing years of the 20th century, we must act now to restore our precious heritage of liberty - or lose it forever. RECOMMENDED READING LIST Bookbanning in America - William Noble ...................... $21.95 Illiberal Education: the Politics of Race and Sex on Campus - Dinesh D'Souza .............................. $15.95 The New Right v. The Constitution - Stephen Macedo .......... $7.95 Pornography: The Other Side - F.M. Christensen .............. $19.95 For these and other books and tapes write: Freedom's Forum Books, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102. Add $2.50 P & H for 1st book and $1.00 for each additional item. Additional (hard)copies of this attractive two-color pamphlet are available for 5 cents each (minimum order $1.00). Price includes shipping. This pamphlet is produced as a public service by the International Society for Individual Liberty. If you would like to receive free literature about ISIL's activities around the world, and receive a sample copy of the FREEDOM NETWORK NEWS newsletter and book catalog, please write: INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102 USA Tel: (415) 864-0952 Fax: (415) 864-7506