------------------------------ From: "Michael E. Marotta" Subject: Book Review--Exporting the First Amendment Date: Sun, 27 Jan 91 09:11 EST ******************************************************************** *** CuD #3.05: File 7 of 8: Review--Exporting the First Amndmnt *** ******************************************************************** BOOK REVIEW: Exporting the First Amendment: The Press-Government Crusade 1945-1952 by Margaret A. Blanchard, Longman Publishers, New York, 1986. This book was reviewed in the same issue (Vol. 39, No. 3. Oct 1987) of the Federal Communication Law Journal that contains the article "An Electronic Soapbox: Computer Bulletin Boards and the First Amendment." "Soapboax" was cited by The Electronic Frontier Foundation in the amicus curiae brief on behalf of Len Rose. EXPORTING THE FIRST AMENDMENT is the more telling tale. Time and again, Eleanor Roosevelt and her team mates from the United States were overpowered by compromisers who viewed "freedom of the press" as a necessary evil. To most of the delegates to the press conventions in Geneva and New York, RESTRICTING the press by adopting "principles of responsibility" was more important. Freedom of the press was for everyone EXCEPT... Except for issues of national security (all nations agreed with that). Except for when the press in one place insults the politicians in another place (Egypt's King Farouk enjoyed the Riveria and Monte Carlo). Except when materials are injurious to youth (Scandanavia and France feared American comic books and the communists hated the daily comics because in the background was all this luxury). Except when opinions are injurious to the reputation of natural and legal individuals (a "legal individual" is a corporation). And indeed, while Eleanor Roosevelt was insisting that the press should be free, the United States was chasing "communist" writers at home and abroad. Sadly, the author actually shares the views of the totalitarians. To Blanchard, the press is like religion or politics, it is an institution than cannot be superimposed on a culture. However, freedom of the press is merely a logical extension of the freedom to speak which comes from the freedom to think. Why it is that Islam and Christianity and atheism, socialism and communism and capitalism, hot dogs and tofu and tacos can be exported and imported but freedom of the press cannot? Recently, the National Science Foundation pressured a sysop into dropping "obscene" GIF files from his FTP directory. (The fate of publishers like Craig Neidorf and Steve Jackson has been well-documented.) To the extent that we compromise, we deliver to our enemies the weapons that are used against us. The failure of the "First Amendment Crusade" following World War II is still haunting us today. The threat to your right to think comes not from the fact that Egypt and Israel impose censorship, but that the United States imposes censorship. The key difference is that for them, it is the rule and for us, it is the exception. So be it. Very often in cyberspace, we come upon systems that ask us not to post "illegal" information on bombs or lockpicking or sex or credit cards. A sysop or moderator has a right to define what is appropriate on their system. But stop and think. There is nothing inherently ILLEGAL about publishing these facts. Security textbooks are one source. Mystery stories are another. If you don't know how cars or credit card numbers are stolen, you cannot PROTECT yourself and you become dependent upon the socialized police forces to inefficiently record your losses. And why is it wrong to write about SEX? What next, walking down the street? Freedom of the press comes from freedom to think. EXPORTING THE FIRST AMENDMENT is the sad story of what happened when these principles were compromised. ******************************************************************** >> END OF THIS FILE << ***************************************************************************