Word: unpopular
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There are several reasons for discussing this subject openly and carefully. To begin with, commentators have pointed out for years that Americans give overwhelming support to free speech as an abstract proposition but quickly change their minds when they encounter concrete cases involving the expression of unpopular ideas. Not so long ago, for example, a national poll revealed that 68 percent of people 25 to 35 years old and 78 percent of all 17-year-olds favored a ban on any statements on radio or television indicating that "Russia is better than the United States" or "Some races of people...
...primarily responsible for maintaining an environment in which free expression and debate can flourish. But even with the most vigorous efforts on the part of campus officials, free speech will not survive an environment in which many people are indifferent to its existence or hostile to the expression of unpopular thoughts. Only in a community that actively values the open exchange of ideas and strongly disapproves of all forms of censorship can the right to speak remain unimpaired. The effort to respect this fredom can require great strength and self-restraint in the face of trying provocations...
Maybe, maybe not. Governor Charles Robb of Virginia, a moderate conservative, recently urged Mondale to raise the issue of Reagan's affinities for the Religious Right. To make his point, Robb said that Falwell, a constituent, is "the most unpopular person in the state." In addition, there may be strains between the President and his strict Fundamentalist friends. Cal Thomas, vice president of Moral Majority and a syndicated columnist, has expressed a few qualms about Reagan's private life. Thomas wrote last week that the President should spend more time with his family ("He never sees his grandchildren...
...thousands of Viet Nam veterans, the longest battle of America's most unpopular war still rages-in U.S. courtrooms. Last May a $180 million settlement was reached in the class-action suit against seven chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange, the dioxin-contaminated defoliant that the military sprayed over Viet Nam from 1965 to 1970. The plaintiffs claimed that Agent Orange had caused, among other things, skin disorders in many of the soldiers and birth defects in some of their children. Judge Jack Weinstein of New York, who worked out the mass-damage award, is now holding hearings...
...nomination came as something of a disappointment to President Joao Figueiredo, 66, who has at times privately preferred Mario David Andreazza, 66, the low-key Interior Minister. Figueiredo has agreed to support his party's candidate, but some party members feel Maluf is an unpopular public figure who would not represent their views. A dissident group of about 60 Social Democrats, led by Brazilian Vice President Aureliano Chaves, decided to support Opposition Candidate Neves in exchange for a policymaking role in a government he might lead...