ABFFE Book of the Month: Freedom for the Thought That We Hate by Anthony Lewis

Interview with the Author

ABFFE: Why did you choose to write this book now?

ANTHONY LEWIS: After decades teaching aspects of the subject, I thought Americans should celebrate and better understand their unique freedoms of speech and press.

ABFFE: What are the greatest threats to free speech today?

ANTHONY LEWIS: The concentration of power in the presidency, which has not yet attacked freedom of speech as it did during World War One but is accumulating the power to do so.

ABFFE: You write that the British government was justified in punishing an Islamic radical for making verbal threats of violence following the London bombings.  Should government's power to limit free speech grow in periods like this?

ANTHONY LEWIS: No. But the requirement laid down by the Supreme Court - that hateful speech can be punished only if it is intended to and is likely to produce imminent violence - can be met when the same speaker has previously aroused deadly violence in members of his audience.  And that is a fact in a few - I emphasize few - cases.

ABFFE: You mention the Kramerbooks case in which booksellers challenged Kenneth Starr's subpoena of Monica Lewinsky's book purchase records.  Why is privacy important for free speech?

ANTHONY LEWIS: We all have thoughts and beliefs - and reading lists - that we may want to keep to ourselves for fear of embarrassment.  Fear of their forced disclosure inhibits our freedom to think and read.  Few of us would want a prurient-minded Javert like Kenneth Starr to probe our minds.

ABFFE: Does the press today have too much power?

ANTHONY LEWIS: No. Especially not compared to the overwhelming, often lawless presidency.  Only the press has called the presidency to account for torture, wiretapping and other outrages.

To read about other Book of the Month selections, click here.