Steven Wallace
As I read various forms of news print, scan the Internet, and view the wild world of 24/7 cable access news, it seems as though a lot of people take advantage of the freedom of speech part; sadly, at least in my opinion, many of these same folks do not pay as much creed to Hatfill’s call for responsibility.
Most of us would agree that political speech has gone a little overboard in recent years. However, this is nothing new. According to an article I read in the Wall Street Journal, our “Great American Political Insult” is older than the nation itself. Ben Franklin, writing in 1771, lamented “Libeling and Personal Abuse, which is of late Years become so disgraceful to our Country.” As a matter of fact, not even George Washington, the father of our country, was spared: Tom Paine raged about his “treachery” and “pusillanimity.”
However, if you’re careless enough to put your biased thoughts out in the public domain, or are a public official, now you open yourself up to public criticism — you still have the right to your opinion, but others also have the right to tell you theirs. And if you get the facts wrong, make personal attacks, or don’t tell the whole truth, folks also have the right to call you on the carpet for it.
But at what point does one go “too far?” As a recent example, during the presidential campaign in 2008, one of the staffers for candidate Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton a “monster.” She was fired from the campaign within the day.
I do not know about you, but I have heard and read some of the disparaging remarks from officials at all levels concerning issues around the Mid-coast and in our great state. In them, if used, the word “monster” would have been the nicest illustration conveyed. Last I checked, the people that vocalized their little tirades still had their great paying jobs.
In journalism, there are supposedly limits on what can be put out in the public domain. A code of ethics includes principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability. There are also broader ethics that include “limitation of harm.”
I think this is where the responsibility part that Hatfill spoke about comes into play. In my opinion, appointed and elected officials, as well as private citizens throwing their two cents into the public domain, should loosely have the same code of ethics to abide by as do journalists.
If that were the case, folks might have to do a little more due diligence before they spout off about a subject. And if these people had to do a little more due diligence, maybe they’d find out things are not always as they seem. If that happened, maybe folks wouldn’t call each other idiots as much, or jump to as many conclusions. We’d have a lot less fights.
Just maybe — and this is a big one — we might even recognize differences of opinion for what they are: a different way of looking at things, not battle lines in the sand that need to be continually fought about.
Freedom of speech is a great thing; it must never be limited. I would hope that as we draw nearer to November’s elections, folks — elected officials, candidates, citizens — would assume a little more responsibility for their words. At the end of the day, we all need to live and work together to make Maine a better place; it is a lot easier to have conversations about how to do this when we leave the name calling and finger pointing out.
UPCOMING EVENTS: The Sept. 12 Chamber Regional Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., takes place at the Inn at Brunswick Station, Noble and Maine streets, Brunswick. The guest speaker is Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. Businesses may submit questions prior to the meeting via info@midcoastmaine.com.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS: SMMC welcomes Midcoast College Counseling, LLC, Beauti Control Indepenent Consultant-Renee Behm-LeBlanc and Living Wealth Partners Walter Reynolds to its membership.
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