Freedom of Speech/Press: The Ultimate Double-Edged Sword

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is quite to the point:

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

Freedom of speech and the press are a concept which began as a cornerstone of our government and has only grown more and more important over the centuries, as the press has become more and more influential over our way of thinking. The local paper of the 1700s was certainly powerful, but can not have had nearly the influence over hearts and minds that the combination of newpaper, television, movies, internet, etc. exerts. Reality was once that which we directly experienced, now it is both our own direct experiences and those which are transmitted to us by an every-growing media. It has produced a culture in America where thoughts and ideas are constantly being exchanged, challenged, revised, and discarded, such that vigorous debate is always going on to find the best ways to solve every problem. This freedom of speech is what makes it possible for us to have elections every 2 years for the House, 4 years for the president, and 6 years for the Senate and feel that anyone who wishes to be, is fully informed about every issue for every candidate.



Yet, from the start, this amendment has been as much a thorn in the side of our leaders, as it has been a sword with which we can hunt our enemies. Our second president, John Adams actually passed legislation called The Alien and Sedition Acts, which according to Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, was "devised to silence Republican criticism of the Federalists..." The act expired with little enforcement, due to its controversial nature. But it highlights the fact that even our own democracy has had a hard time balancing the needs of governing with the needs of free expression.



Now, the U.S. government has challenged the reporting of Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news agency which presents itself as the Arab version of CNN. Al-jazeera has been the primary news agency for the dissemination of communications by anti-U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere - often the first agency to recieve new audio and videotapes from Osama Bin Laden himself. U.S. officials have raised the logical question of whether this is aiding and abetting enemies of the entire free world upon which Al-jazeera relies for their freedom of the press. (Check out Saudi Arabia to see how a free press survives in an authoritarian Arab country.)



Now the Iraqi blog Healing Iraq has a wonderfully sarcastic response to those on both sides of the issue. Who is being the more hypocritical? Why everyone involved, of course! Check it out.