Freedom of speech

Here's an 8-page newsletter I like: Imprimis, from Hillsdale College.

Politically libertarian, religiously big-tent, it's the best of the modern Enlightenment school of thought. As such, it's got its problems, but there is much good to glean, too. Here's a quote:

"Suppose the English government had told Tom Paine that he could go ahead and publish all he liked—but only if at the back of his pamphlets he also printed the Royal Governor’s views. That command, far from an implementation of free speech, would have been just the opposite. It’s a restriction of speech if, in order to be allowed to express your own views, [the government demands] you also have to present those of someone arguing on the other side."

Of course, writers and speakers should try to be fair to opponents, even if they aren't there to defend themselves. That's objectivity, addressed in this same issue by David Brooks.

(Check it out here)
http://www.hillsdale.edu/imprimis/2006/January/

PS - the Brooks article is only here for a short time, so hurry!