This is Freedom?
I was alarmed by the recent decision of the CBSC against the Howard Stern show. The gloved fist of censorship is casting an ever-increasing shadow over our fundamental rights and freedoms.
Have we now forgotten the lessons of the past? The Roman emperor who said "In a free state there must be free speech." The words of John Milton, "Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties." The passionate statements of Voltaire, and of many others?
I am not a listener of Howard Stern, although I am familiar with his work. However, I am not willing to stand by and let them come for the Howards Sterns of this world, because I don’t happen to be of that persuasion. If the members of the CBSC and other "guardians of the public morals" are really interested in the protection of our society, they would do well to listen to the words of Thomas Erskine in his defense of Thomas Paine. "When men can freely communicate their thought and their sufferings, real or imagined, their passions spend themselves in air, like gunpowder scattered upon the surface—but pent up by terrors, they work unseen, burst forth in a moment, and destroy everything in their course. Let reason be opposed by reason, argument by argument, and every good government will be safe." I would feel much safer in a country where Howard Stern is free to seek an audience, than in one smoothed over by an externally imposed morality.
The only arbiter of taste in broadcasting should be the listening/viewing public. If you don’t like it, change the channel.
Sincerely,
Paul Miniato Email me.
November 20, 1997
(As far as I know, this letter to the editor was never published.) However, I did receive some comment and have replied further here.
Copyright Paul Miniato 1997-1998.
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