Just to be clear, I think we all agree self imposed censorship is not censorship, i.e. speech outlawed by the Gov't. The Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have a 1st amendment right to protest loudly at funerals of veterans, which indicates how far from censorship we are. (In their mind, it doesn't matter if the vet was gay or not; he fought for a country that refuses to kill homosexuals as God commanded.) SCOTUS also ruled Nazis could march in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Skokie Illinois. (After that victory, they agreed to march in Chicago instead.) The U.S. is "far out there" regarding free speech compared to most other countries.Ant said Our rights of expression are very broad and generous but we live with self imposed censorship when it relates to matters of race and gender.
However as has been mentioned, it's still not totally absolute free speech.
- You can't release classified information without risking jail.
- You can't release info restricted by contract, trade secrets etc.
- Legal penalties and other info may be sealed from the public by court ruling.
- Evidence may be excluded from a jury.
- Grand jury deliberations can't be discussed.
- Libel and slander already mentioned.
- HIPAA Restrictions on releasing medical info.
- Yelling fire in a crowded theater already mentioned.
- Inciting a crowd to kill a certain individual and burn down his house.
- What else? ...
Wrong. Fred Phelps is dead. He will lose every debate.Interbane said I have a feeling Phelps would whoop the tar out of you in a debate over who is more justified.