In class today we did a close read of a book critique; the critique was by Jacob Mchangama, a Danish intellectual who offered arguments against the book, The Harm in Hate Speech, by Jeremy Waldron. Not to be confused with Waldron's arguments, the critique itself was against allowing laws against hate-speech to gain too much power here in the US. Mchangama takes issue with Waldron's argument that stopping hate speech in the US is analogous to stopping toxic emissions from exhaust pipes in automobiles. If we have the duty to stop one (which we do--just ask the EPA), then we have the duty to stop the other. Yet Mchangama shows the weakness of this analogy by showing clearly how a human being's words are not simply used up toxic remnants of a combustible engine--our words aren't the by-product of other useful machines. They are, rather, engines themselves that can drive ideas.
The question about whether "hate-speech" laws should be fortified in the US has particular significance to George Orwell's 1984. If government can begin to impose strict limits upon what can and cannot be uttered, then its citizens may find themselves shifting out of "law-abiding activity" and into the dark shadowy corners of government-banned activity. This has enormous ramifications for both political and religious proponents, both of whom could see crack-downs on language that is not approved by the goverment. For anyone who thinks otherwise, Mchangama proffers case-law that shows just such crack-downs. For those of you who missed the article or were out of school today, here's a link to the site: HOOVER INSTITUTE: The Harm in Hate Speech Laws. Reading and annotating it is worth 20 points to your English IV Honors grade!
On FRIDAY, we will take our third and final benchmark test as well as work on our essay portfolios.
The question about whether "hate-speech" laws should be fortified in the US has particular significance to George Orwell's 1984. If government can begin to impose strict limits upon what can and cannot be uttered, then its citizens may find themselves shifting out of "law-abiding activity" and into the dark shadowy corners of government-banned activity. This has enormous ramifications for both political and religious proponents, both of whom could see crack-downs on language that is not approved by the goverment. For anyone who thinks otherwise, Mchangama proffers case-law that shows just such crack-downs. For those of you who missed the article or were out of school today, here's a link to the site: HOOVER INSTITUTE: The Harm in Hate Speech Laws. Reading and annotating it is worth 20 points to your English IV Honors grade!
On FRIDAY, we will take our third and final benchmark test as well as work on our essay portfolios.