When the Government Declared War on the First Amendment

[EasyAce]

It all started with President Woodrow Wilson.
By Damon Root
http://reason.com/archives/2017/09/26/when-the-government-declared-w/print

One hundred years ago, the U.S. government declared war on the First Amendment.

It all started with President Woodrow Wilson. On April 2, 1917, Wilson urged the nation into battle against
Germany in order to "make the world safe for democracy." But the president also set his sights on certain
enemies located much closer to home. "Millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy...
live among us," Wilson observed. "If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of
repression."

That firm hand came in the form of the Espionage Act, which Congress passed in June 1917 and Wilson
eagerly signed into law. Among other things, the act made it illegal to "convey information with intent
to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States or to promote the
success of its enemies." That sweeping language effectively criminalized most forms of anti-war speech.
If convicted of obstructing the war effort, the guilty party faced up to $10,000 in fines and up to 20
years in prison.

With that law in place, Wilson's threats of repression soon became reality . . .

. . . These old cases have important lessons to teach us today. For starters, they demonstrate why the
exercise of fundamental rights should never be subject to majority approval. The Espionage Act was
passed by a democratically elected legislature and enforced by a democratically elected president, and
it was probably in tune with the will of most Americans at that time. But of course, the whole point of
the First Amendment is to place certain rights beyond the reach of the majority.

These cases also demonstrate the importance of an independent judiciary that is prepared to check the
other branches of government when they go too far. It is no coincidence that [Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell] Holmes was the justice who led the Court in trashing the First Amendment in Schenck
and Debs. Far too often throughout his long career on the bench, he advocated judicial deference to
majoritarian government . . .

[ABX]

Woodrow Wilson was right. Speech must be curbed for the national interest. As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword. If freedom of speech can impede the Commander in Chief's agenda, then it is no different than an enemy attacking us.  Speech that offends can be deadly. Suicide rates are up as well as rates of hate crimes, and they all are started by hateful speech.  If we don't regulate our own speech to conform with the best interest of the nation, it must be done for us by the strong arm of the government. *


* _{- said no Conservative ever.}

[EasyAce]

Woodrow Wilson was right. Speech must be curbed for the national interest. As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword. If freedom of speech can impede the Commander in Chief's agenda, then it is no different than an enemy attacking us.  Speech that offends can be deadly. Suicide rates are up as well as rates of hate crimes, and they all are started by hateful speech.  If we don't regulate our own speech to conform with the best interest of the nation, it must be done for us by the strong arm of the government. *


* _{- said no Conservative ever.}

@AbaraXas
_{- no conservative with the proverbial two brain cells to rub together, anyway.} 

[ABX]

@AbaraXas
_{- no conservative with the proverbial two brain cells to rub together, anyway.} 

I actually was paraphrasing a lot of sentiment I've seen on both sides in the past few months. :)

[EasyAce]

I actually was paraphrasing a lot of sentiment I've seen on both sides in the past few months. :)

@AbaraXas
_{. . . Ah knew thet!!!}

[/InspectorClouseau]