Rights You Don't Have, Episode 1
The first in a series of musings on
"rights."
Every once in a while I run across a comment that
suggests that someone believes they're guaranteed something that they really
aren't. Depending on context, this ranges from amusing to merely sad. So here's
the first one:
The First Amendment to the US
Constitution quite clearly asserts the right to speak your mind. Judicial
rulings have expanded this to cover other forms of expression than those
explicitly listed in the amendment, and imposed limits when the specific
incident can be plausibly identified as
dangerous.
But: There's not a peep in
the amendment or any subsequent court ruling that guarantees an audience. Noone
has to listen to you. Noone is required to donate to you the soapbox on which
you wish to stand to shout your message.
Posted: Sun - January 8, 2006 at 05:36 PM