6                                                                                            FREEDOM IS AS FREEDOM DOES

probably come nearer to actuahzing the fundamental principles
of civil hberty than any other country in the world. The lesson of
botli past and present is that pohtical principles do not defend
themselves, but require continuous support in the vigorous efforts
of the people.

Why, you may ask, has freedom of speech always been more of
an ideal than a reality? Perhaps because it is difficult for men to
be sufficiently civilized to let their fellow citizens freely express
ideas that seem dangerous and hateful. Those in authority fre¬
quently find it easier and safer to combat critics and dissenters
with violence and suppression than to compete with them in the
market place of opinion, answering their arguments and risking a
democratic decision.

Supporters of democratic government recognize that while a
self-governing people can, and frequently does, make serious mis¬
takes, experience so far has shown that in the long run a demo¬
cratic system best serves the interests of a nation. In such a society
freedom of speech, with its associated freedoms, is a transcendent
social and political value upon which rests, to a very considerable
degree, the weffare and progress of the community. To mutilate
or negate this freedom is to strike at the very heart of the demo¬
cratic process. The most heated debate or abusive mud-slinging
political campaign is a thousand times better than resort to blows,
bullets or bombs.

In recent times there has been increasing agreement among
thinking men that the best way of solving human problems is
through the use of intelligence or reason in the form of modern
scientific method. The most pressing task of this era is to carry
over that method more effectively from the natural sciences into
the realms of pohtics, economies, sociology and international rela¬
tions. But objective intelligence and the experimental procedures
of science can fully develop and play their proper role only in the
atmosphere of democratic institutions and freedom of opinion.

In such an atmosphere and under the American Bill of Rights,
all individuals and groups must be permitted to have their say.
Freedom of speech does not guarantee anyone support for his