“The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.” ~Tommy Smothers (v2.0)
The act of burning a flag is free speech, printing white supremacy slogans and painting swastikas on a wall is free speech. “… Free speech isn’t about speech you like it’s about speech you abhor.” Free speech is the basic principal of a democracy which is why it was made the first amendment to the constitution.
To undermine free speech is to undermine democracy at the fundamental level at the core and the result is what we saw on Nov. 8th. When the media stops allowing speech, stops allowing views that oppose the views of their owners they in effect censor free speech.
Censorship places the democracy at risk. In the Citizens United decision the concern of presentation opposing view in a political question or campaign was paramount in the ruling. In other words the decision may well have guaranteed a programming in the public interest by simply eliminating the right of media corporations from censoring an opposing viewpoint.
While the simple version of the decision is that “money equals speech” it doesn’t give censorship rights based on ability to pay. It does say that the right to present an opposing view point is a constitutional right.
Our democracy demands that opposing views be heard yet some believe they need only to deliver as news the propaganda of one view and ignore the opposing view. “Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
It is this view that the media has adopted as presenting the discussion of the state of the democracy and eliminating any opposing view. By claiming that there is no profit in progressive views they have determined what our democracy is. They have subverted our right to self censorship. They have determined that only they know what’s best for the democracy.
We will never get to hear the opposing view from the progressive, liberal or left side of politics. We will be spoon fed only the neoconservative or radical right views. As long as the media continues to keep the opposing views from the airwaves does not enliven the discussion, does not enrich the democracy it only serves to destroy it.
“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.”`~George Bernard Shaw
I have been told (a phrase my wife hates) on many an occasion “what “the media” does or doesn’t do has nothing to do with freedom of speech.” The media in reality has everything to do with free speech they are controlling what is “news” what or who you will listen to and even how much that free speech costs. This is at the root of censorship.
Whether it’s a government or a corporation controlling the debate or discussion you are the victim of unadulterated censorship. Yet our society demands that our government mediate our democracy by insuring that we have access to that discussion or debate freely without bias.
So far it hasn’t.