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FREE
AMERICA CALLING THE OPPRESSED PEOPLE OF GERMANY!! by H. MILLARD © 2000 |
| "CALLING ALL FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE. TAKE HEART GERMAN CITIZENS, AMERICA IS FIGHTING TO FREE YOU FROM THE TYRANTS WHO ARE OPPRESSING YOU. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. BE OF GOOD CHEER AND CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOM. EVEN IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR, KNOW THAT FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE IN AMERICA WILL CONTINUE TO SEND YOU THE TRUTH THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO BLOCK." The above is a message that could have accompanied any of a number of radio broadcasts that were sent into Germany during WWII, where the repressive German government was trying to block information from outside the nation that didn't take the official line. The sad thing is that this message could also be used today to preface various Web sites that the present day repressive German government doesn't like. This week, Dusseldorf District Government President Jurgen Bussow sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the U.S. government to help block Web sites containing images, thoughts and opinions that the German government doesn't like. Herr Bussow's lederhosen apparently got into a bunch over some Web sites that are passing on political thoughts that the present day "enlightened" German government--not to be confused with the old "repressive" German government--doesn't like. Germany, as you no doubt imagine, doesn't have that troublesome First Amendment right to free expression that Americans have to protect them from just the type of repressive action being taken by the German government against its citizens. Bussow puts it this way: "I think there's a limit to freedom of speech when it comes to appeals for violence against third parties." As is usual when freedoms are trampled on, there's a reasonable sounding justification. In this case, it's "appeals for violence against third parties." Okay. Direct appeals for violence are always a problem, but in this case, what the German government is trying to curtail are Web sites that present political views. This is not the immediate threat of someone standing in a town square screaming "Let's go get THEM (whoever THEM, is)! There is a distinction between publishing political views, no matter how radical they are and screaming "Let's go get THEM." U. S. law recognizes this distinction and the courts are aware that in every age and in every society a small tyrannical elite can arise that will use claims that something or someone is appealing for violence in order to quash dissent. Can't have ordinary citizens thinking, reading and saying things that aren't approved by the government elites, seems to be the sentiment of the German dictators. It's the small group of elites who will determine what is proper for German citizens to think read and say. "Gee, that sounds reasonable," sings the numbnut chorus. NO IT'S NOT! Since when is it proper for people of one world view, political opinions, or religious persuasion to tell other people what they should be able to say, think and hear? Who died and put Herr Bussow in charge of the minds of his countrymen? Who gave him the right to treat German citizens like little children who aren't smart enough to hear various opinions and views on matters that may interest them? But, the larger question for American citizens is: Who in their right mind in the U.S. government would even listen to this guy's request to censor protected (in the U.S. at least) political free speech? The German tyrants are doing a pretty good job of controlling what their citizens think read and say within the borders of Germany, but that doggone internet is bringing dissident views to the ordinary citizens. Why is it that the German tyrants fear their own people so much that they want to censor what they can hear? It seems that the more things change in Germany, the more they stay the same. Gone are the tyrants of old, only to be replaced by new tyrants. Gone are the old black uniforms and jack boots, only to be replaced by dark business suits and stylish shoes. So, why should people in the U.S. even be concerned that people in Germany are being denied the freedoms that we take for granted in this country? Because the German government is trying to spread its tyrannical views to the U.S. Herr Bussow even gave his opinion that despite the First Amendment rights (Achtung! Too much freedom!) of U.S. citizens, the U.S. government CAN stop speech of U.S. citizens since Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives the U.S. government that right. In other words, in the German government's view, Article 7 takes precedence over the First Amendment, and U.S. citizens should stop saying, writing and thinking things that the German government doesn't like if these U.S. citizens pass on what they say, write or think to German citizens. If the U.S. government goes along with the German government's request and blocks internet sites that the German government doesn't want its citizens to see, then the right of free speech and expression of American citizens will be curtailed. And, that dear friends, is darn right un-American. All freedom loving people need to speak out against the repression in Germany, lest this nonsense spread even more to the U.S. Have no doubt that we have our own Herr Bussow's in this country who would just love to keep you from thinking, hearing and saying things that they don't like, and who in the next stage of their repression make you follow their political, social and religious views. Think not? Have you heard scary Joe Lieberman trying to push his religiously based views on the rest of us? The U.S. ideal, as embodied in the First Amendment and upheld by the courts, is that government may not curtail protected free speech based on the content of that protected free speech. This is a good ideal and keeps the petty dictators at bay. Tyrants, no matter where they're found, should be rooted out and sent packing so that all people can freely express themselves as the unique individuals that they are. # # # |
| Reference:
German official asks U.S. ISPs to block neo-Nazi sites
(link may expire) BERLIN (IDG) -- A German state-level official is challenging U.S. ISPs (Internet service providers) to help combat neo-Nazi propaganda on the Internet. Düsseldorf District Government President Jürgen Büssow has sent an open letter to four ISPs and to U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman William Kennard, asking them to block neo-Nazi Web sites on their servers. The action comes as Büssow is warning German ISPs that they face fines of up to 500,000 marks (US$231,000) for hosting neo-Nazi sites. As authorities have turned up the heat on German neo-Nazis, many have moved their Web sites to U.S. servers. "If a content provider is based in the United States, I can't get at them," Büssow said in an interview Monday. "But I don't think any Internet provider wants to be known in Germany for spreading Nazi propaganda; that would hurt their business." Büssow said four U.S.-based ISPs are responsible for three sites that carry anti-Semitic and racist content in German and an English-language site dedicated to Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel, with a German-language subsection. He sent the open letter to those four ISPs. A search of a "whois" database shows at least two of the sites in question are registered to fictitious addresses in Berlin. "Thulenet" is registered to "Janus-Kommunikation," named for the two-faced god of Greek mythology. No such company is listed in the German telephone directory. A spokesman for the FCC did not immediately return phone calls. Büssow said that, despite the broad interpretation of freedom of speech in the U.S., he feels confident that there is a legal basis in U.S. law for stopping hate speech. He pointed to Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the U.S. is a signatory, guaranteeing protection against discrimination and incitement to discrimination. "I think there's a limit to freedom of speech when it comes to appeals for violence against third parties," he said. © 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. |