Word: censorships
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...energy at the center of Paul Rudnick's new play about the twin evils of censorship and ambition (we're talking art and politics, of course) is its fervent desire to shock. Rudnick, who wrote the Obie-Award-winning "Jeffrey," has mastered the minefield of homosexuality and a Republican Congress--turning up a gem of a play amidst such well-traveled territory. Though this jouncy, stunningly designed production never quite stoops low enough to outrage, the pace is uptempo and the lines clever enough to jolt even the savviest Village person into a laugh of bemused recognition...
...moment? Would individuals who believe in the marketplace of ideas and freedom of speech have had the responsibility to vote for the creation of the group, despite the repugnance of its topic? The majority opinion seemed to be that Usenet was a public forum and therefore it would be censorship to vote against the white power group if it could prove sufficient relevance...
With passage of a new federal telecommunications law effectively banning "indecent" communications on the Internet, the cost of illiberal, left-wing campaigns against pornography and other speech deemed hateful should be clear. Censorship is now regarded as an appropriate response to social problems by centrist and left-of-center politicians, as well as upholders of "family values" on the right. Overwhelming bipartisan support for the indecency ban demonstrates how leftist proposals to regulate speech further a right-wing social agenda...
...information about contraception. But a century later, the revival of a feminist anti-porn movement coincided with the election of Ronald Reagan and the rise of conservative Republicanism buoyed by an intolerant religious right. Left-wing protests of pornography and "hate" speech, in general, helped legitimate growing right-wing censorship campaigns. Their targets differed--activists on the right focused on sex and AIDS education, the study of evolution, literature about homosexuality and changing gender roles, while the left focused on speech considered sexist or racist--but their guiding principles were the same...
Even civil libertarians, however, are hesitant to acknowledge this. Their usual arguments against censorship are practical, not moral. They focus on the slippery slope, fearing that censorship of action movies will lead to censorship of "Schindler's List." Defense of First Amendment freedoms is generally presented as a matter of enlightened self-interest. It's expedient: If I assume power to censor your words, you may someday assume power to censor mine. Professional civil libertarians (I include myself among them) tend to be liberals; they consider race and sex discrimination immoral and not just inexpedient (a waste of human resources...