Rights Are Duties By Reciprocity.
Free Speech.
"When we speak of right we ought always to unite with it the idea of duties; rights become duties by reciprocity. The right which I enjoy becomes my duty to guarantee it to another, and he to me; and those who violate the duty justly incur a forfeiture of the right.
In a political view of the case, the strength and permanent security of government is in proportion to the number of people interested in supporting it. The true policy therefore is to interest the whole by an equality of rights, for the danger arises from exclusions. It is possible to exclude men from the right of voting, but it is impossible to exclude them from the right of rebelling against that exclusion; and when all other rights are taken away the right of rebellion is made perfect."
Thomas Paine
Dissertation on First Principles of Government
Glenn Greenwald has posted an excellent commentary on this subject in its current context. Dont miss it. His argument cuts in all directions. ANYONE who advocates suppression of free speech no matter how offensive or “hateful” is the enemy of the liberty and good order. Remember, “The right which I enjoy becomes my duty to guarantee it to another, and he to me; and those who violate the duty justly incur a forfeiture of the right.”
I am reminded of Alexander Hamilton's argument in support of tariffs against imports to the United States. Tariffs are necessary until domestic producers can compete effectively with foreign producers. Then, the tariffs are no longer necessary and can be eliminated. Of course, those who benefitted and still benefit by protection fight to retain the tariffs, using some of the above-average profits to pay lobbyists to defend their interests in the halls of government. In our government today, there are all sorts of caucuses of people who share something fundamental in common -- race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, sexual and gender identity, tax bracket, and so on. As Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. warned back in the early 1990s, the pluralism that evolved as a strength in the United States was giving way to multiculturalism. Democracy has proven very difficult to sustain when the population loses the common values and cultural norms that are most important to a constitution consisting of "We, the People..."
Ed Dodson