Hedges was on the Colbert show tonight. There are probably re-runs
for those who are interested but missed it.
Quoting "Gibbens, Daniel G." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
Thanks, Eugene. I am reminded of Holmes "[O]ur Constitution] is an
experiment, as all life is an experiment. Every year if not every
day
we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon
imperfect knowledge. While that experiment is part of our system I
think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to
check
the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught
with death, unless they so imminently threaten immediate
interference
with the lawful and pressing purposes of the law that an immediate
check is required to save the country." My assumption (Hedges
would
apparently declare it's naiveté) is that the condition "so
imminently
threaten immediate interference" is far from being reached.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Volokh,
Eugene
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 5:22 PM
To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
Subject: RE: AlterNet website
The article is by Chris Hedges, a Nation Institute fellow and
former NPR and New York Times reporter; he is the author of a book
on
this subject (American Fascists). He also takes the view that "the
radical Christian Right" should have its speech legally
restricted.
From the
book:
"This is the awful paradox of tolerance. There arise moments
when
those who would destroy the tolerance that makes an open society
possible should no longer be tolerated. They must be held
accountable
by institutions that maintain the free exchange of ideas and
liberty.
"The radical Christian Right must be forced to include other
points of view to counter their hate talk in their own broadcasts,
watched by tens of millions of Americans. They must be denied the
right to demonize whole segments of American society, saying they
are
manipulated by Satan and worthy only of conversion or eradication.
They must be made to treat their opponents with respect and
acknowledge the right of a fair hearing even as they exercise their
own freedom to disagree with their opponents.
"Passivity in the face of the rise of the Christian Right
threatens the democratic state. And the movement has targeted the
last remaining obstacles to its systems of indoctrination, mounting
a
fierce campaign to defeat hate-crime legislation, fearing the
courts
could apply it to them as they spew hate talk over the radio,
television and Internet."
To clear up any ambiguity about whether he was calling for legal
suppression ("denied the right to demonize") or just social
pressure,
here's an excerpt from an NPR interview with Hedges:
JIM (Caller): Yes. Yes, I am. I needed to ask the author --
I mean,
I myself am a Christian, but I wouldn't even somewhat agree with
Pat
Roberts. But the author stating that you need to restrict someone's
free speech just for mere words, he's advocating -- I mean, what
he's
advocating is fascism, is he (unintelligible)? ...
Mr. HEDGES: I think that, you know, in a democratic
society, people
don't have a right to preach the extermination of others, which has
been a part of this movement of - certainly in terms of what should
be done with homosexuals. You know, Rushdoony and others have
talked
about 18 moral crimes for which people should be executed,
including
apostasy, blasphemy, sodomy, and all - in order for an open society
to function, it must function with a mutual respect, with a
respect...
JIM: Sure.
Mr. HEDGES: ...for other ways to be and other ways to
believe. And I
think that the fringes of this movement have denied people that
respect, which is why they fight so hard against hate crimes
legislation
-- such as exist in Canada -- being made law in the United States.
[NEAL] CONAN: But Chris, to be fair, aren't you talking
about
violating their right to free speech, their right to religion as
laid
out in the First Amendment?
Mr. HEDGES: Well, I think that when you preach -- or when
you call
for the physical extermination of other people within the society,
you know, you've crossed the bounds of free speech. I mean, we're
not
going to turn a cable channel over to the Ku Klux Klan. Yet the
kinds
of things that are allowed to be spewed out over much of Christian
radio and television essentially preaches sedition. It preaches
civil
war. It's not a difference of opinion. With that kind of rhetoric,
it
becomes a fight for survival....
Eugene
________________________________
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gibbens,
Daniel G.
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 2:21 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ucla. edu
Subject: AlterNet website
On the recommendation of a friend, I just read an short
article on
this website entitled "The Rise of Christian Fascism and Its Threat
to American Democracy" posted today. I'm curious about any views
on
the credibility of this website, or for that matter, on this
particular article.
Dan Gibbens
University of Oklahoma College of Law
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Douglas Laycock
Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law
University of Michigan Law School
625 S. State St.
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