Is First Amendment The Primary Rule For Blogs And Newspaper Forums?

This past week I had to make a decision about whether to post a certain comment from a reader or not on this blog.  The person wrote a very long and highly charged response to a political post here, and made it sound as if ‘any means’ to stop the election of a person to the White House might mean more than defeating a candidate at the ballot box.  It was way over the top, and really quite reprehensible.  The comment was deleted. 

The comment raises yet again a most interesting set of questions in this new world we live in, as we obtain more news and information from online sources.  Blog sites are not the only ones in need of some answers, as newspapers that have online forum sites where the public can weigh in with conversation on a whole set of topics, also might be in need of guidance. 

While no one should have any concern about deleting the type of comment mentioned above, there does seem to be questions about other types of offensive speech.  I admit I have no clear answers to the issues that confront bloggers and other type of forums.  I do however have a series of questions.

For instance, how far should a blogger allow a person to comment on racially divisive matters regarding immigration when the words used are the kind intelligent people would not use in dinner conversation?  Should I allow a person to use the “N’ word here on my blog while commenting, when I would not want to read it on another’s blog?  Or in the online forum section of The New York Times?

Perhaps more murky and questionable is the role and responsibility that we have as bloggers.  Do I have a responsibility to insure accuracy (as best I can) over issues that have major consequences? 

For example if a comment paints Iraq as being responsible for 9/11 (it was not) do I allow that to be published knowing that far too many thought it to be true, and it added to the national mood that resulted in a war?  False information repeated endlessly has a way of becoming the truth.  Do I want to be a part of the echo chamber of lies?  We all witnessed that very thing, as we all know too well, and now continue to pay the price for being lied to as a nation.

When charges fly in hate filled messages about Barack Obama and his faith, and readers try to paint him as a radical Muslim do I have a duty to stop the lies since Obama is a Christian?  (Forget for the moment that religion should not even play a role in the first place when deciding a leader for our nation.)  Do I have a higher responsibility to the First Amendment by allowing dreadfully false comments to be posted, or to the facts about the man who could be our next President if we do not allow lies from preventing it?

If someone were to verbally gay-bash in a comment to a post should I have ethical qualms if I delete it?  Or should I consider all conversation to be equal and part of the larger dialogue that can now happen as a result of the internet age we live in?  

These questions have gripped me for some time and I have mixed answers.  Am I a blogger AND a gatekeeper?  If I am a gatekeeper then do I undermine the civil rights I champion when fighting for freedom of speech?

As we journey down the technology road these are issues and questions that need to be addressed.  I know that this blog is but a drop in the ocean, and yet I feel a duty to act in a responsible manner.  For the most part I have very few examples of the shallow end of the swamp posting here on my blog.  Most of that type are not reading my liberal blog from Madison.  But after the comment that needed to be deleted this past week I have a new found sense of  what many others deal with on perhaps a more frequent basis. 

I trust they also are concerned about the larger issues that develop as a result.

Technorati Tags: FirstAmendment, Blogs, NewspaperForum, FreeSpeech, Censorship

100,000 Readers!

Dear Readers,

James made the graphic for this post, and it echoes how I feel about my little piece of cyberspace.  Lots of color and passion.  I started Caffeinated Politics 807 posts ago on July 14, 2006.  I had the hope that this blog would not only discuss news and politics with passion, (hence the name of the blog) but also comment on diverse topics not found elsewhere, but that are of interest to me.  From Madison, Wisconsin (where I live) to Dubai, (where I would love to travel) this blog reflects who I am, and what I think.

That is why Del Reeves fans, anti-war liberals, clean government types, space buffs, advocates of gay marriage, and lovers of books and newspapers all find a home here on Caffeinated Politics.  And that eclectic style of blogging will continue.  One never knows what the next post will contain.

The 100,000th reader was from Cheyenne, Wyoming.  I wish to thank all those who stop by and visit.  You are appreciated.

All the best,

Gregory

Fellow Blogger In Saudi Arabia Needs Our Support After Being Detained

The idea that anyone would censor my thoughts or try and limit my views from being posted on my blog is impossible for me to consider.  The idea that I might be held for interrogation by my government for ideas I post is something I may joke about given the climate in the White House, but it is nothing I seriously am concerned about.

That however is not the case for Fouad al-Farhan, a blogger in Saudi Arabia who is being detained for posting about political prisoners in that country.    Mr. Farhan had written to his friends recently alerting them to the fact that his arrest was coming.

“The issue that caused all of this is because I wrote about the political prisoners here in Saudi Arabia, and they think I’m running an online campaign promoting their issue,” the letter continued, saying that Mr. Farhan had been asked to sign a statement of apology.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that,” he wrote. “An apology for what? Apologizing because I said the government is a liar when they accused those guys to be supporting terrorism?”

I urge my readers and fellow bloggers to show support for this man by posting entries on his blog (www.alfarhan.org)  (or the English version http://en.freefouad.com/) to show that there is international support for freedom of speech and political debate.  The blog can be found under a banner that reads “Free Fouad” and features his picture. 

At the top of Mr. Farhan’s blog is a call in Arabic for “freedom, dignity, justice, equality, public participation and the other lost Islamic values.” People from around the world need to step up and address this detention in strong words.

Far too often we spout the virtues of democracy and freedom of speech, but then do too little to advance those causes in real and meaningful ways.  Without ever leaving your computer chair you can make a statement and a difference.

Speak up for a fellow blogger than cannot do that for himself at this time.

Technorati Tags: SaudiArabia, Fouadal-Farhan, Blogger, FreeSpeech