Rights and wrongs
Jun. 6th, 2010 04:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vanillafluffyThis morning I spent about 20 seconds trying to beat my snooze alarm to death before realizing I was hitting the wrong clock. Chalk it up to too much nightlife---not partying, staying up til 5 AM because it's just more comfortable at night.
Anyway, I got up and got into my zebra suit and went to church...very good talk on the First Amendment by AI. The expression, "Them's fighting words!" so beloved by cartoon characters like Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam are linked to a Supreme Court ruling of the day (1942). There was a street corner preacher who was asked to move along by a police officer and because argumentative. He was arrested, and the conviction was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. They ruled that include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting words" those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.
There was also content about biased news media, which is less concerned with accurate reporting of events than ensuring ratings and entertainment value. We're so in love with what we perceive as our right to have an opinion that even scientific fact is considered open for debate. Another abuse is the comments on internet news stories which are frequently "fighting words", often being either without value or relevance. It was very interesting.
I'm hoping I can crawl into bed and get to sleep early tonight. I'd really like to reset my sleep clock, which still behaves like I'm second shift, and the heat isn't helping. Eh, we'll see....
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Anyway, I got up and got into my zebra suit and went to church...very good talk on the First Amendment by AI. The expression, "Them's fighting words!" so beloved by cartoon characters like Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam are linked to a Supreme Court ruling of the day (1942). There was a street corner preacher who was asked to move along by a police officer and because argumentative. He was arrested, and the conviction was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. They ruled that include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting words" those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.
There was also content about biased news media, which is less concerned with accurate reporting of events than ensuring ratings and entertainment value. We're so in love with what we perceive as our right to have an opinion that even scientific fact is considered open for debate. Another abuse is the comments on internet news stories which are frequently "fighting words", often being either without value or relevance. It was very interesting.
I'm hoping I can crawl into bed and get to sleep early tonight. I'd really like to reset my sleep clock, which still behaves like I'm second shift, and the heat isn't helping. Eh, we'll see....
.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-06 11:56 pm (UTC)Oh, check your e-mail. One hot, fresh beta'd story is waiting there for you. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-07 03:46 am (UTC)There was also discussion of media figures as personalities rather than old school "talking heads". It was quite engaging. And the week after next, *I* talk about hoarding. That ought to be a real show-stopper....