This last Thursday, John Stossel of ABC News had another one of his news specials, this one entitled "You Can't Say That", was about the state of free speech in this society.

While you may argue with the intelligence of some of these Stossel programs, such as the special that asks "Are men and women different?" the point that this particular program made was that your rights as a citizen of this country must be protected no matter where you are.

However, before we get into all of this, there is a very basic thing that Stossel missed....the US Constitution...where our rights were given life. The thing that was missed was the fact that in reality, neither you nor me, nor John Rocker or the KKK or anyone has a blanket right of free speech. And, I am not talking about yelling "Fire!" in a crowded building...

The US Constitution is a government document, and as such, it tells the government what rights and responsibilities it has, and what it can not do, both to the states and to the citizens.

The first ammendment to the US Constitution reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedon of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The first ammendment has a limited scope. First, it says "Congress shall make no law..." This does not mean that employers, or companies, or private citizens can not make rules abridging the freedom of speech, it simply means that the government can not. People forget that our rights are there to protect us against a tyrany of government. It does nothing about a tyranny of the citizens.

But this is not the only restriction on our "freedom of speech".

Marches and protests are often supported by people who wrap themselves in the American flag and the first amendment and say they are untouchable. They are not. Again, "Congress shall make no law...prohibiting...the right of the people peaceably to assemble." This means that a march, a protest, an assemblage of people that is deemed to be violent can be broken up. People don't realize these limits on their "rights" placed upon them, and so misuse the rights they were given.

So why do people seem to cry "freedom of speech" whenever someone tries to enforce a rule of civility? I had a case recently where a woman rode the public transportation system in town, and while on one of the busses, she started telling a story that was loaded with the F word...and she said the F-word...F this and F that. The driver of the bus told the woman to stop using that language, and the next day, her supervisor rode the bus just to push the point even further home. This woman grumbled to me afterwards about how her freedom of speech was being violated. This despite the fact that CATC has the right to make rules regarding the use of its services, including a civility rule that prohibits the use of vulgar language.

What people have done with the first amendment, and the rest of the Bill of Rights, and they carry them around like a flag, and now anyone can infringe on their "rights". There are a number of prisoners in jails across this country who are suing the prison systems because the work details are "cruel and unusual punishment". The NRA hides behind the right to bear arms against a tyrannical government and uses that "right" to push against laws limiting the access to firearms. And again, marchers and protestors spew hate and venom, then say things like "You can't stop me from calling the white man the devil!"

On the Internet, the waving of the flag of freedom of speech continues, and it is used by people when they say something that someone else doesn't agree with. Anyone told to shut up on the Internet is very likely to be met with: "I have a right to free speech". This despite the "fact" that those "rights" are shared with the other person. This despite the fact that there are rules governing the use of chat rooms, forums, and email service that infringe on these "rights". If you use the service, you agree to abide by the rules governing that usage. If you don't think so, perhaps before the next time you sign up for a webpage or a Yahoo ID or a Chat alias, you should slow down and read the Terms of Service, or whatever it is the individual service providers call it.

Your "rights"...those things you've woven into a flag that you wave around wherever you go...they end once you step into a part of the Internet that you don't pay for. They also end when the owner of a free site says they do. Here are a couple of examples...

Cephiro.nu has banned my IP# from their forum. Why? I hardly ever posted there. However, during February, circumstances were such that the owner figured I would not abide by her rules of her forum. Guess what... If that's the way she feels, that's her decision, and her right as the owner of that forum account.

Because of my rules against profanity and uncivil behavior, I too have banned several IP#s from using my guestbook, and some of my forums. I have the same rights as any other owners of online services. My rules are clearly stated, and violating them means I can take action against the people doing it.

So before you wave the flag of your "rights" on a website, make sure that you have the right to do so. You may find you have fewer rights than you think.

Artemis

(comments welcome - please email me at lunahq@yahoo.com and I will post your comments here as well.)