18                                                                                          FREEDOM IS AS FREEDOM DOES

economic depression threatened, there have been unceasing vio¬
lations of the Bfll of Rights.

The American Constitution does not of course provide for the
economic implementation of civil Hberties. It does not surmount
the problems of citizens and organizations wishing to publicize
a particular viewpoint but possessing insufficient funds to rent
halls, print newspapers and pay for radio or television time. Nor
does the Constitution deal with the dangers that arise when
powerful economic interests with enormous financial means carry
on such an overwhelming amount of propaganda that contrary
views have httle chance in the court of public opinion. Yet what¬
ever the solution of these questions, it remains true that were the
Bill of Rights enforced and actualized, the people of the United
States would thereby make a portentous step forward.

Mere defense of the Bill of Rights, however, is not enough. "In
Ithe end, civil liberties cannot merely be defended. They must be
[exercised. They have no reality inscribed on fading parchment:
they are sustained by no brooding omnipresence in the sky. They
exist only to the degree that they are asserted by the action of
men." ^ This compelling statement by Gerard Piel, Editor of Scien¬
tific American, points to the fact that initiative, courage and in¬
telhgence wiU always be prerequisites in the perpetual struggle
for the liberation of the human mind.