Hear no Evil

Environmental Republican has tagged me to list the seven people who never should publish or speak another single word publicly ever. There are many people I disagree with. There are also many people who I think are ill informed on the issues or who have drawn incredibly erroneous conclusions. There are numerous people who I never wish to read or hear speak again. However, there is no one who I think shouldn't publish or speak. In fact, I wish more people would express their thoughts and opinions in a public manner. That is what blogging is about, at it's core, the idea that everyone now can share their thoughts and opinions no matter how ill informed or poorly reasoned. It is certainly true that speaking can have negative effects on people in various ways. The solution though is never censorship but more speach, to confront those ideas that are wrong and explain why they are wrong. If I ever find that the only way I can win an argument is to shut up my opponents, it means that my argument is the weak one. Free speech and the free exchange of ideas is not a necessary evil, it is an unmitigated positive good. (Scott at Environmental Republican is certainly not a censor and I am sure that he regards this as a joke, it is not an issue that I personally joke about however. The seductive desire to just shut up one's adversaries rather than perform the tough job of confronting them is too close to all of us I think.)