http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/110105McMasters.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/110105McMasters.html
Inside the First Amendment
Fear of Dissent Is A Fear of Freedom
By Paul K. McMasters
Late last month, a junior sociology major at George Mason University
in Fairfax, Va., silently stationed himself near a military
recruiters' table on campus. The student, Tariq Khan, is a Pakistani-
American and a veteran who served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He
held literature and wore a sign stating, "Recruiters lie. Don't be
deceived."
The recruiters, naturally, were not happy. Some bystanders weren't
either. Words were exchanged. Campus police arrived, Tariq Khan was
unable to produce identification, a scuffle ensued, and the student,
bruised and bloodied, according to one news account, was taken to
jail. He will appear in court on Nov. 14 on misdemeanor charges of
disorderly conduct and trespassing.
That same day, at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts, a
similar clash was unfolding. State police in riot gear, with gas masks
at the ready, were on hand when a dozen or more students gathered to
protest National Guard recruiters on campus. A police officer
reportedly grabbed a student's sign, reading "Cops Are Hypocrites."
The student wound up banned from campus and facing possible criminal
charges.
Similar anti-military recruiting protests have resulted in similar
confrontations on college and university campuses across the nation,
according to an Oct. 12 article in The Nation. They include New York's
City College, William Paterson University in New Jersey, San Francisco
State, the University of California-Santa Cruz and the University of
Wisconsin.
Protesters off campus run into the same problems. On Sept. 26, 370
anti-war protesters outside the White House were hauled away to jail.
Also that day, 41 demonstrators at the Pentagon were picked up and
carted off for booking. Officially, authorities cite trespass,
disorderly conduct, failure to obtain a permit and similar laws as
reasons for arrests, threats of arrest and disruption of such
demonstrations. Unofficially, they send a chilling signal that
disagreement with government policy or majority opinion can get you in
trouble with the law. That message is clearly sent when police
videotape peaceful gatherings, which happened at the teach-in at
George Mason University the week after the arrest of Tariq Khan.
That message is clearly sent when authorities cite possible
involvement in "terrorist activities" as justification for spying on
advocacy groups. The American Civil Liberties Union recently obtained
through the Freedom of Information Act an FBI document that targets a
peace group and an affirmative-action group in Michigan. "This
document confirms our fears that federal and state counterterrorism
officers have turned their attention to groups and individuals engaged
in peaceful protest activities," said Ben Wizner, an ACLU staff
attorney.
One does not have to endorse or defend anti-war or anti-military
sentiments raised in peaceful protests to recognize the risk that
suppressing dissenting voices poses for a vital democracy. Whether
stifling such voices is done in the name of good order or disagreement
with the message, such actions reflect a fear of dissent.
Fear regularly tests Americans' commitment to First Amendment rights
and values. It has done so since the nation's inception. And we have
yet to conquer the instinct to fear speech and limit liberty.
That instinct is especially active during wartime. Afraid of foreign
enemies, we've attacked our own rights. We sent hundreds of Americans
to prison under the 1798 Sedition Act and the 1917 Espionage Act for
criticizing war or the government or its leaders.
Today, facing real and symbolic wars against terrorism, we too often
allow our leaders to insulate themselves from criticism and
opposition. Public officials herd college students, demonstrators,
even journalists, into so-called "free-speech zones." Government
agents peer over the shoulders of ordinary citizens engaged in First
Amendment activities on the Internet, on cell phones, at the library,
even at their places of worship. We propose amending the Constitution
to prevent burning a U.S. flag as political protest.
The fear and distrust driving such actions is particularly dangerous
when they defang political discourse. Discourse promotes deliberation.
Deliberation ensures sound and supported government policies and
actions. But without robust dissent, discourse is anemic and
ultimately ineffectual.
That's why the courts generally have held that the First Amendment
protects dissent, which in turn ensures government accountability,
fosters new ideas and sharpens old ones. In the absence of clear and
concerted citizen commitment to such principles, however, all speech
eventually kneels before official authority.
Constitutional guarantees alone will not fully protect those
principles because freedom of expression, the right to dissent
especially, each day must face and prevail over the power of
government, the will of the majority and the passions of the moment.
With such powerful forces arrayed against it, dissent also requires
the protection of an independent judiciary and an informed public.
The more unpopular the protest, the more our commitment to the First
Amendment is tested. When we're tested, we're reminded of the menace
to democracy and freedom posed by what Supreme Court Justice Louis
Brandeis termed "silence coerced by law."
The First Amendment is important, not only because it protects our
rights, but also because it gives us the courage to fight for what can
be ours if we dare claim it: freedom from fear, the freedom to speak
and the right to disagree.
Paul K. McMasters is a First Amendment ombudsman for the First
Amendment Center. A veteran journalist and expert on First Amendment
issues, he writes and speaks extensively on issues related to freedom
of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition and freedom of
information. E-mail:
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