itizing policy by mobilizing people who were against it. Ultimately, there is no handbook covering criticism and free speech. We keep thrashing through the same issues, making the same arguments, winning some battles but losing others. The First Amendment is our collective safety net. Writing on the Web after being in print and television, having made the transition from an information culture that isn't very open to one that is extraordinarily free, I feel a special sensitivity to the fragile nature of unfettered speech. It means letting other people's ideas reach their audience, even when they are obnoxious, offensive, or inaccurate. And it means remembering the trade-off: Everyone gets to say what they want, as long as they don't provably harm or injure other people, and then you get to say what you want - which is indescribably and supremely valuable. For me, free speech has never been a libertarian notion. It's not a trendy or anarchistic passion of the techno elite. It's an old value that requires constant maintenance, monitoring, reminding. It's the very stuff of patriotism. ...
