Real Test for Any Proposed Speech Code

¶ … Real Test for Any Proposed Speech Code or Policy" by Alan Dershowitz, the author explains his position on the dangers of censorship, even against the most egregious of speakers. At Harvard University, two people were invited to give speeches at the university and were paid honorariums for their presence. Tom Paulin's speech to the students and faculty included angry diatribes against Jewish people and even states that Jewish people living in certain parts of Jerusalem should be murdered, despite their age or gender. The other, Amira Baraka, is professionally anti-Semitic and speaks writes poems blaming Israel for many of the world's troubles. Neither of these people is altruistic and both men make their livings by spewing hatred against minority groups. Even though what they say is heinous, Dershowitz does not advocate censorship against these two persons or anyone else. Once one person's viewpoints are allowed to be prohibited by authority figures, and then another group can demand other people be censored.

It is obvious that Alan Dershowitz dislikes Tom Paulin and Amira Baraka and does not support the types of language that they use. He cites specifically how the two use offensive and inappropriate language in order to enflame their audiences, such as using the "n" word in their dialogues. The types of comparisons that the men use, for example comparing Sharon to Hitler is inappropriate and is an insult of the highest, or perhaps lowest, degree. However, as Dershowitz also says, by censoring these types of people because we do not agree with what they say is not the appropriate response. He writes: "Clever people can always come up with distinctions that put their cases on the prohibited side of the line and other people's cases on the permitted side of the line" (Dershowitz 1). What he means by this is that even though quite a few people would agree that what these people say is offensive, they are important because it creates discussion on an important political issue. People should not be silenced just because the things they have to say are controversial or uncomfortable to hear.