Until.. I was doing a wrap up of today's studying by reading my professor's article on 1st Amendment Protection, and realized just how awesome this country is. I was astonished. And I felt dumb - I hate that feeling. Incredibly well written. I especially love the last sentences ending with Holmes' quote.
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The antimajority rhetoric is so central to the process of political mobilization that we cannot allow the Government - in an effort to protect the minority - to pass laws that would criminalize words of this kind, which often amount to "group defamation" of the dominant racial and gender groups...
If we are involved in public discussion of even the most hateful kind, the way to deal with it is by more speech. We must develop our analytical and debating skills and resist the impulse simply to squash speakers with whom we disagree by invoking the criminal law, a response that can only add to the stupidity of "inert public"...
Do we not gain by responding and exposing the lies behind each hateful speech? are we not indicating our impotence to deal with the words directly if we give up and rely on the criminal law to deal with prejudice?...
Perhaps I am naive in still believing in Holmes. Yet I am convinced that their words still express the ideal that our institutions should follow - let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever saw truth bested in a free and open encounter?'
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2 comments:
The last line gave me chills. I thought you were dunzo with finals?
unfortunately, NOPE. i have one last exam tomorrow
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