DoubleEdgeSword
Feb 17th, 2007, 07:41 AM
NPR airs a series offered by Intelligence Squared U.S. which brings Oxford-style debating to America. Here is one of those debates.
Weighing the Limits of Freedom of Expression
by Margot Adler
NPR.org, October 26, 2006 · In Denmark, protests by Muslims erupted around the world after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. In the United States, derogatory remarks Harvard University President Larry Summers made about women in science led to his resignation. And the congressional campaign of Sen. George Allen of Virginia took a hit after he made what many found to be offensive remarks toward an ethnic group.
The highly valued freedom of expression is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But in quiet moments, other feelings often emerge: fear that words can cause violence, that epithets can wound and harm.
On Oct. 18, six journalists, professors and activists gathered to debate the proposition, "Freedom of expression must include the right to offend." Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst for CNN and a staff writer for The New Yorker, moderated the debate, which is the second in a series of Oxford-style debates called Intelligence Squared U.S. The series, produced in New York City by WNYC, is based on the successful Intelligence Squared program that began in London in 2002.
In the United States, there is a tradition of free thought and self-expression. There is also a tradition of different peoples' struggles to gain equality and participate meaningfully in the society. These two narratives can be in conflict, as they were in this debate.
Cartoonist Signe Wilkinson began the debate speaking in support of the motion. She gave a witty overview of the history of offensive cartoons, displaying American cartoons from the 19th century that lambasted every religion, among them Jews, Catholics, Pentecostals, Mormons and Baptists.
She noted that what is happening today isn't much different from what took place in the mid-1800s in New York City, which, like Denmark today, had poor immigrants who arrived with robed clerics and demands for separate schools. The only difference is that in New York, the immigrant group was Catholic.
"When newcomers arrive on our shores," she said, "they should be prepared to get in line to have those beliefs scrutinized."
Listen to the entire debate here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6249980
Weighing the Limits of Freedom of Expression
by Margot Adler
NPR.org, October 26, 2006 · In Denmark, protests by Muslims erupted around the world after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. In the United States, derogatory remarks Harvard University President Larry Summers made about women in science led to his resignation. And the congressional campaign of Sen. George Allen of Virginia took a hit after he made what many found to be offensive remarks toward an ethnic group.
The highly valued freedom of expression is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But in quiet moments, other feelings often emerge: fear that words can cause violence, that epithets can wound and harm.
On Oct. 18, six journalists, professors and activists gathered to debate the proposition, "Freedom of expression must include the right to offend." Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst for CNN and a staff writer for The New Yorker, moderated the debate, which is the second in a series of Oxford-style debates called Intelligence Squared U.S. The series, produced in New York City by WNYC, is based on the successful Intelligence Squared program that began in London in 2002.
In the United States, there is a tradition of free thought and self-expression. There is also a tradition of different peoples' struggles to gain equality and participate meaningfully in the society. These two narratives can be in conflict, as they were in this debate.
Cartoonist Signe Wilkinson began the debate speaking in support of the motion. She gave a witty overview of the history of offensive cartoons, displaying American cartoons from the 19th century that lambasted every religion, among them Jews, Catholics, Pentecostals, Mormons and Baptists.
She noted that what is happening today isn't much different from what took place in the mid-1800s in New York City, which, like Denmark today, had poor immigrants who arrived with robed clerics and demands for separate schools. The only difference is that in New York, the immigrant group was Catholic.
"When newcomers arrive on our shores," she said, "they should be prepared to get in line to have those beliefs scrutinized."
Listen to the entire debate here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6249980