Dissident Veteran For Peace: Victory for Liberty in Snyder v. Phelps

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Victory for Liberty in Snyder v. Phelps

More than three years ago, in "God Bless Fred Phelps," I wrote: "When the government permits a private action and ~~enforces~~ a judgment against Phelps for invasion of privacy and emotional distress as they did this year in Snyder v. Phelps then everyone who is not a sheep needs to look out." It was heartening therefore to read the following in the 8-1 Supreme Court slip opinion (PDF):

Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, movethem to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a Nation we have chosen a different course—to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stiflepublic debate. That choice requires that we shield Westboro [Baptist Church] from tort liability for its picketing in this case.

See also: "High court hands 1st Amendment win to funeral picketers"--analysis at firstamendmentcenter.org

Labels: civil liberties, Fred Phelps, Supreme Court