Editorial: Doonesbury, Limbaugh flaps offer a lesson in free speech

Strong opinions often stretch the tolerance of Americans to embrace free speech, even among people who would normally call themselves supporters of the First Amendment. Yet two acts of speech the past several weeks each very different from one another have demonstrated why we must embrace the right of all Americans to speak their minds, and how to respond to speech we deem to be offensive.

As a talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh has crossed the lines of civility on repeated occasions. The latest example is his use of the words "slut" and "prostitute" to describe a young woman testifying before Congress.

Limbaugh was rightly condemned for his comments and was forced to offer a halfhearted apology. That's not enough for some of Limbaugh's critics.

MoveOn.org has recently launched a petition drive to get Limbaugh off the air in Sacramento and other cities. Limbaugh's supporters, in turn, have accused MoveOn of attempting to "censor" the conservative radio host.

Allegations of censorship have also arisen as many newspapers nationwide have weighed whether or not to run Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip this week. The series, which concludes today, uses graphic imagery to mock a Texas law requiring women to have an ultrasound before getting an abortion.

Some papers have chosen to run the controversial series on the comics pages, or move it to the opinion pages (as The Bee did). Other newspapers have decided not to run it, resulting in some readers accusing them of censoring Trudeau.

The debate offers a good lesson on what constitutes censorship and what doesn't. As defined by Webster's, a censor is "an official with the power to examine publications, movies, televisions programs, etc., to remove or prohibit anything considered obscene, libelous, politically objectionable, etc." By definition, censorship involves a government act to limit objectionable forms of speech, a frequent occurrence in China, Iran, North Korea and other authoritarian regimes.

In free countries, newspapers and broadcast outlets have the right to determine what kind of opinions they do or do not want to publish or air.

Declining to disseminate a certain opinion does not constitute censorship.

That said, in a free country, readers and listeners should expect their media outlets to provide space and airtime so publication and broadcast decisions can be criticized. That's why The Bee each day sets aside space for letters, along with longer "Another Views," like the one published today.

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Editorial: Doonesbury, Limbaugh flaps offer a lesson in free speech