Freedom of Speech and Democracy

I remember when I was in grammar school walking into the auditorium for assemblies and always seeing those classic Norman Rockwell “Four Freedoms” paintings which were blown up into large posters and hung on the walls.  I can see them as clearly as if it were yesterday!  The one which made the most lasting impression was the one illustrating freedom of speech.  It was a picture of a youngish working man (with an youthful ‘Abe Lincoln’ look) standing up in an audience of about 20 people and speaking his mind in a town hall type setting.  He had a look on his face that radiated earnestness while at the same time a little trepidation, as if he was flexing a muscle that was unused most of the time.  I always return to that image whenever there is a controversy about free speech, and internally I test the issue against my gut feeling while visualizing that image.

There is a huge outcry on the liberal side of the political spectrum concerning the Supreme Court’s decision to throw out the strictures placed by the McCain-Feingold legislation on political advertising by ‘associations’, and I sympathize with the arguments presented.  But I am not as fearful, as many are, that the conservative court has sold out democracy to the corporate interests and we are all doomed to be enslaved by some secret cabal of greedy business people so they can maintain their elitist status at the expense of the poor working man.

Clearly, we are going to see all manner of political messaging that will be fed by an apparent unending stream of corporate cash in support of all the lobbying efforts we have grown to hate over the last several decades.  Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this is something new.  Remember the ‘Swiftboaters and TeaPartiers’?  It’s already there.  And there is no argument that the power of advertising and media  muscle will be brought to bear in support of corporate interests in an effort to intimidate the public and prospective candidates for public office in November and beyond. 

However the definition of ‘associations’ includes all those interests that oppose the efforts of heavily financed corporate lobbying efforts as well.  In theory, at least, that is the countervailing force.  Unfortunately the supply of cash is not equal.  The fundamental question being asked is whether an ‘association’ has the same status as a ‘person’ when considering the guarantees provided by the Constitution regarding ‘Freedom of Speech’.  Many say no, but just as many say yes.  It is going to be a question that we all will be considering over the next year as the election process unfolds. 

Freedom of Speech is guaranteed to our citizens in the Constitution because each of us presumably has the right to seek fairness and justice in pursuit of happiness.  Corporations are not in pursuit of happiness, they are in pursuit of money, even at the expense of happiness!  Does that pursuit in its purist form equate individuals and corporations?  I think the fulcrum of democracy will ultimately seek to answer that question.

The real moral question for me is this:  In advertising or messaging of any kind, are we being told the truth or only half truths or no truths at all?  Democracy depends on the ability to decipher truth from lies.  We want to believe that most humans, even if they are basically ignorant or uneducated (which much to my horror is a condition way too common in this country) have some ability to discern truth from falsehood.   Therein lies the ultimate resolution of whether we will be enslaved by corporate interests.  We all have come to realize that today’s media environment can twist things around so that even blatant lies seem like truth.  It is harder and harder to find the essence of truth in today’s society.

I believe that we are headed for a very interesting and emotional election season as we see all this messaging come our way.  I am hopeful that somehow we will all be able to cut through the bullshit and elect people who are honestly seeking to help all of us as ‘people’, not corporations or ‘associations’. 

Our future success as a democracy depends on it.