Dredge writes:
Theodorkic writes:
Freedom of speech means the government cannot restrict what you say.
In that case, no government on earth practises freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech has reasonable limits. For instance, in the U.S. defamation, libel, criminal threatening and dangerous speech such as yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre (a form of incitement) are all illegal. False testimony while under oath is illegal and you can be charged with perjury, and false allegations or lying to legal and/or enforcement authorities can be illegal, too.
Pretty much everyone feels these are reasonable and necessary restrictions on free speech. Do you have a problem with them? For you, if libel and the rest are all illegal does it mean that we don't really have Freedom of Speech?
Some Republicans do seem to have a problem with Freedom of Speech. Teachers and librarians are getting hit with a raft of very vaguely drafted laws Republican-led states restricting what they can say or provide to children. Some of the laws permit a teacher or librarian to be charged upon the complaint of a single parent. A parent could complain about
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret in a middle school library and put a librarian in legal jeopardy in some states now. See
School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison, for example.
--Percy
™ Version 4.2
