An American Paradox: Censorship in a Nation of Free Speech

Though this broad historical essay contains worthwhile observations, muddy analysis and a neurasthenic acceptance of the status quo diminish its impact. Garry, a visiting scholar at the Columbia University School of Law, examines both private and public censorship, such as the ``politically correct'' movement and crusades against advertising, without a close enough look at the details and social forces marshalled behind them. He thoughtfully notes how the judicial and political systems avoid ``truth-finding,'' and suggests a distinction between censoring and censuring. He argues that censorship generates not from strong, exclusivist communities, but rather from anxious ones threatened by dislocating changes, and that such anxiety, based on economics, is now part of our national psyche. ``Only through a tolerance and encouragement of a free marketplace of speech'' can our country adjust to diversity, Garry argues, but he fails to explore how that market offers more forums of speech to the wealthy than to the less advantaged. (May)