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So, to get this straight, speech is not protected by our first amendment ideology when it: * Is demonstrably untrue * Endangers the public The first amendmen

• bradleyland 14y ago
  Touché :) However, I will attempt a rebut (despite the fact that I am a card carrying atheist). First, we should be clear that the two conditions above are bound by a logical "AND", not "OR". This means that both must be true in order to circumvent first amendment protection. Also, all expressions of "freedom of religion" do not endanger the public. First amendment protection is about acts, not ideologies. Ironically, it is difficult to prove the second condition until some negative consequence has already occurred. This is the case with many of our laws. Look how hard it is to stop a stalker prior to their actual assault on a victim.
  • uvdiv 14y ago
    I'll evade your difficult idea with a more pragmatic rebuttal: give almost any government in the world some legal speech model like what you describe, and you will be in prison for spreading the "false, dangerous delusion of atheism". The inability of government to determine, and enforce, truth is the only thing protecting your highly unpopular beliefs from censorship. Free speech is in principle the right to speak the truth; in practice it's the right to assert falsehoods which enables it.