We all know about the “don’t shout fire in a crowded theatre” restriction of free speech. But few of us really think about what that means; it’s become a trite phrase.
It means the same thing that this favorite saying means: “Your freedom to swing your fist ends at my nose.” The American idea of freedom is allowable until it infringes on someone else’s idea of freedom. Now, there are many who have different ideas of where that infringement begins, just as there are people with differing ideas of proper physical space. But we can agree on a few things.
1. Your freedom of speech is restricted by my freedom to publish or broadcast what I want. This means that Imus was not as free to say what he wanted on the air as he thought. Instead, when his employers became uncomfortable with what he said, they let him know there was a problem – by firing him.
AC has had similar issues – with people who think that “The People’s Press” means that they can publish anything they want, even items fringing on pornography or radical hate speech. On the contrary – anything published at AC doesn’t just express your opinions, but rather its quality and content reflect on all other writers here as well. If AC writers are uncomfortable with the content that lies one link away from their own writing, they may well leave. For this reason, AC retains the right to dump any content they wish.
2. Your freedom of movement is restricted by my right to safety. This means that if you represent an imminent danger to me and mine, the law is required to restrict your freedom – especially if you’re a known bad guy. This is why emergency protective orders have been implemented in many cases, and why people are not allowed to drive drunk or stupid (like with a cell phone jammed in their ears) in many places.
Recently, it’s also been clear that we need to restrict the freedom of movement of many others. For instance, military bases are restricted to those who have legitimate business there as well as pre-approved permission. (You need to check, if you are on a military base, as to whether you even have permission to photograph certain things.) Careful screening ensures airplane security. All these things are designed to ensure the maximum amount of freedom for all.
3. Your freedom of thought is absolutely unrestricted. Unfortunately, many do not understand this. Go to any college campus and ask kids passing by whether you have the right to be a bigoted sexist jerk, provided it does not affect the way you make decisions.
We have the absolute right to think what we want of one another. We even have the right to talk about those beliefs. But dissent is being shut down by group after group, by person after person. If you believe that – to be as offensive as I can – Muslims are scum and black Muslims are worse, you have that right. But if you start talking about this, people will try to shut you down.
On the other end, if you believe that every person must be converted to your religion -whether it’s Seventh Day Adventist or Sunni Islam, you have the right to believe that. But when you start acting on that, it may become clear pretty quickly that not everyone agrees that you have that right.
Our freedom of thought is the most important of our freedoms. It is, in a weird way, the glue that has historically kept America alive. Without it, all other freedoms will go away.
4. Your freedom to do what you want with your body is restricted – but wrongly? We have the right to do all kinds of idiot things with our own bodies – smoke, sometimes drive without seatbelts, participate in jackass-style stunts, drink to excess – provided it does not interfere with the rights of other people.
But there are specific things we are not allowed to do: prostitute ourselves, do drugs, ride a motorcycle without a helmet, commit suicide, have limbs cut off for no reason (some people want this), et cetera. All these things have been restricted since the Temperance movements in the late 1800s, and more, new restrictions have gradually encroached on our lives ever since.
We will never get all these freedoms back. But we can study the restriction of this freedom as a warning – when you allow one type of freedom to be restricted, other similar types will follow. It is a wise person who fights for all freedoms to be as unrestricted as possible.
