The Government Vs. Disney
Free speech be damned, U.S. government officials proclaimed in a letter threatening the Walt Disney Company: take your movie off the market or risk the wrath of the state. That is the gist of the latest assault on individual rights, another advancement toward fascism.
The government has no moral right to dictate how or what Disney creates and broadcasts, yet that's exactly what a band of Democratic senators presumes to control. This historic state-sponsored demand that a television network withdraw its program was made in a Sept. 7 letter to Disney President Robert Iger, who, as of this writing, has resisted the dictate, which followed a demand from former President Clinton that the Disney-owned ABC movie be cancelled. Amid the complete disregard for our nation's founding principle—individual rights—comes not a hint of renunciation from the Republican president or Congress, who routinely wage their own attacks on free speech and have zero credibility on the subject.
At issue is a made for television movie called The Path to 9/11, a documentary-like dramatization of the Islamic terrorist attack. Like most docudramas, it contains elements of truth and fiction in a selective depiction of the event. Apparently, among these is the assertion that the Clinton administration chose not to respond militarily against the Islamic terrorist responsible for attacks on the United States. The manner in which the point is portrayed caused the censorship.
None of that matters now—the movie is under siege and every freedom-loving American must defend Disney's right to air it. By sending the letter, these government officials—who ought to be censured and removed from the Senate—are using the authority of the state, i.e., the power of law enforcement, to violate free speech.
It is an outrageous injustice that ought to be—and probably won't be—rejected by the president, denounced by every major motion picture studio and opposed by every actor, director and patron of the arts for what it is: government control of speech, or, censorship.
Freedom of speech is inalienable—which means absolute—and it is not subject to the whims of politicians. If any portion of the ABC program's content is a distortion of facts, like numerous news reports, books and based-on-a-true-story movies on the market, so be it. Let the buyer beware—or not watch the program. Government has no say in the matter.
In a free society, government exists primarily to defend the nation against attack and protect individual rights and, to that end, it has a monopoly on force. That is precisely why the Democrats' demands are immoral. Any government communication calling for cancellation is censorship; the Democrats are state-sanctioned bullies.
If Disney deserves criticism, it is not for yanking the program if it comes to that—which it may—because, in this era of rule by force and intimidation, no business or individual can be expected to easily withstand the power of the welfare state with a gun. Of course, Disney should air the program—but a threat from fascist senators and ex-presidents is not to be taken lightly.
Whatever airs on ABC this Sunday and Monday night—conservative propaganda, liberal propaganda, or The Path to 9/11—should be decided solely by the Walt Disney Company, not by Washington's thugs, and Americans, censored and still heading down the path to dictatorship, should support Disney 100 percent.
RELATED LINK
• Senators' Letter to Robert Iger
RELATED ARTICLES
• Scott Holleran: Censorship on the Rise in Hollywood
• Commentary: George Lucas vs. the Stormtroopers
The government has no moral right to dictate how or what Disney creates and broadcasts, yet that's exactly what a band of Democratic senators presumes to control. This historic state-sponsored demand that a television network withdraw its program was made in a Sept. 7 letter to Disney President Robert Iger, who, as of this writing, has resisted the dictate, which followed a demand from former President Clinton that the Disney-owned ABC movie be cancelled. Amid the complete disregard for our nation's founding principle—individual rights—comes not a hint of renunciation from the Republican president or Congress, who routinely wage their own attacks on free speech and have zero credibility on the subject.
At issue is a made for television movie called The Path to 9/11, a documentary-like dramatization of the Islamic terrorist attack. Like most docudramas, it contains elements of truth and fiction in a selective depiction of the event. Apparently, among these is the assertion that the Clinton administration chose not to respond militarily against the Islamic terrorist responsible for attacks on the United States. The manner in which the point is portrayed caused the censorship.
None of that matters now—the movie is under siege and every freedom-loving American must defend Disney's right to air it. By sending the letter, these government officials—who ought to be censured and removed from the Senate—are using the authority of the state, i.e., the power of law enforcement, to violate free speech.
It is an outrageous injustice that ought to be—and probably won't be—rejected by the president, denounced by every major motion picture studio and opposed by every actor, director and patron of the arts for what it is: government control of speech, or, censorship.
Freedom of speech is inalienable—which means absolute—and it is not subject to the whims of politicians. If any portion of the ABC program's content is a distortion of facts, like numerous news reports, books and based-on-a-true-story movies on the market, so be it. Let the buyer beware—or not watch the program. Government has no say in the matter.
In a free society, government exists primarily to defend the nation against attack and protect individual rights and, to that end, it has a monopoly on force. That is precisely why the Democrats' demands are immoral. Any government communication calling for cancellation is censorship; the Democrats are state-sanctioned bullies.
If Disney deserves criticism, it is not for yanking the program if it comes to that—which it may—because, in this era of rule by force and intimidation, no business or individual can be expected to easily withstand the power of the welfare state with a gun. Of course, Disney should air the program—but a threat from fascist senators and ex-presidents is not to be taken lightly.
Whatever airs on ABC this Sunday and Monday night—conservative propaganda, liberal propaganda, or The Path to 9/11—should be decided solely by the Walt Disney Company, not by Washington's thugs, and Americans, censored and still heading down the path to dictatorship, should support Disney 100 percent.
RELATED LINK
• Senators' Letter to Robert Iger
RELATED ARTICLES
• Scott Holleran: Censorship on the Rise in Hollywood
• Commentary: George Lucas vs. the Stormtroopers
