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Subject:Free Speech on the Net From:Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 7 Jul 1997 11:10:24 PDT
There seems to be the mistaken impression on this list and others that free
speech and debate is somehow protected by majority rule. The whole purpose
of free speech is to protect the minority opinions from repression by the
majority so that they can propagate freely and become majority opinions.
(It's sad to be so jealous of our freedoms in protecting them from government
interference when we give them up so willingly in other institutions. Freedom
is all of a piece, and that includes cyberspace.)
Many charged that the certification debate was repetitious. Well, that is
the nature of debate. You take up where your debater left off, and that often
means restating the case, clarifying points and then moving on to the next
one. These are not sound-bite issues, but issues that demand careful and
sometimes detailed attention.
It is interesting to me that the ones so vocal against certification were
also the ones most vocal in calling for a shut down of the debate. Hmmmmmm.
Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001 http://www.phoenix.com
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