There Has to be a name

A woman in the Mental Health Field wrote on a web site an article about bi-polar problems, symptoms, and treatments. Immediately one of the responders let loose a horrible attack upon the whole mental health field, the whole medical field: doctors, drug companies, and nurses. It was a mean and vicious attack. The only name give was some email handle. The writer of this smear did not use a real name.

The whole University of North Carolina System is currently engaged in a discussion and debate about how to deal with racist and bigoted comments spray painted on the tunnel at N.C. State University after Obama's election. The lawyer for the ACLU was quoted as saying that this was a very, very difficult issue but that the constitution was clear in its protection of free speech.

Indeed, free speech is a very precious right for all citizens of the United States of America. No one wants to take away that right. But it seems to me that in order to live under that protection there has to be an equal requirement that one has to be public in that speech. That if you want the protection of the first amendment then we have to know to whom that protection is to be given. The person who paints racists comments on a tunnel and flees does not have the protection of the first amendment. The person who paints that comments and signs his name (her name) has the protection of the first amendment. The person who makes accusations, innuendos, slander, or spreads lies on the internet without using their real name gets no protection of the first amendment. The people who want to make those comments and sign their names have that protection under the first amendment.

The first amendment gives protection to citizens, but not a blanket protection to an amorphous vague citizen, but to individual citizens who can be identified with their speech. With every right there is a responsibility. With the right of free speech and the protection of the constitution comes, it seems to me, the responsibility of being willing to be identified with your speech.