Customer Reviews

Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other

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Hentoff deals with the subject of free speech in the most objective manner I've seen. As a writer for the Village Voice, he could not be accused of being a right-winger, so criticism of the hypocrisy of the left is very credible. I've always thought it ironic that the left portrays itself as having a lock on being open-minded, yet it is all too happy to restrict speech that presents a contrary point of view.

Hentoff gives many examples, including some of his own, where both sides of the political spectrum attempt to censor the speech of the other. He discusses everything from efforts on college campuses to prevent non politically correct subjects from being discussed to censorship he faced while writing his columns.

Great book for people to read on both sides of the political spectrum. Perhaps it could move more people on both sides to actually listen to opposing points of view rather than trying to prevent the discussion. We have to understand that the 1st Amendment was not designed to protect speech we agree with--their would be no need for such protection. Being offended is really not a constitutional reason to preclude speech (in my view as well as Hentoff's).

Though the Left has now turned against Hentoff for his politically incorrect views on Bill Clinton, he is far from being some cranky right-winger. In this book, he holds up free speech as an ideal that few people really uphold. He especially criticizes "civil libertarians" who use the First Amendment as protection of things they like and then ignore it when trying to ban what they hate (racist writing, sexual harassment, etc.). Rather than set up left-wing straw men to knock down, Hentoff details stories of how the left censors, while acknowledging that the Right censors as well. But since conservatives admit their intentions they are not as dangerous as the duplicitous people on the Left. Hentoff seeks truth in everything, and this book is his finest.

Hentoff's dogged persistance to the First Amendment comes through again and again in this work. He does not care about the topic, he does not care about who wants a word censored, he only cares that the Constitution protects Free Speeach and he will, too. I came aupon this title, and searched for it. Upon finding it, I swallowed the book whole. I became alternately enraged and amused at the attempts of some to limit the expression of others, and their reasons for doing so. Hentoff's work should be required reading for all students, and naturalized citizens; he brings the First Amendment to life through powerful stories adn facts

Hentoff, one of the foremost free speech advocates, presents stories, many involving his own experiences, of individual examples of censorship initiatives from both the 'left' and 'right'. He doesn't really present a comprehensive philosophical case, but rather provides concrete examples of the necessity for rigorous protection of free speech.

This is one of the most important books of our time. Hentoff is a passionate believer in free speech who recognizes that if speech is truly to be free, he must protect the expression even of ideas he abhors. He catalogs with equal regret the efforts of both the right and the left to censor speech they don't like. While being sympathetic to those who object to allowing bigots, racists, pornographers, atheists, and others of many stripes the right to lay out ideas that one group or another finds repugnant, he makes both an intellectual and an emotional case for allowing everyone to have their say, no matter how much this may offend some. He points out that suppressing speech doesn't get rid of the underlying thought, but merely drives it underground and gives it the benefit of martyrdom. His corrective to bad speech is good speech: those who believe in their ideas should not try to censor other views, but should openly confront and refute them with opposing ideas.

His prescription can be hard to accept at times, but the case he makes is persuasive that in the end, liberty of speech is the best guarantee of a free society and of the ability for that society to work through the all viewpoints to reach agreement on which opinions are social desirable and which are not.

Democracy and freedom are hard masters, but they are worth it.

I had to read this book my freshman year of college in a class called "law and the political process." It may have been the first book I ever read for school that completely engrossed me. I read it from cover to cover in only a few days. Hentoff really attempts to look at the issue from a perspective of defending absolutely the freedom of speech, not from either the right or the left. People on both sides of the political spectrum have attempted to limit what others can read. This was a truly enjoyable experience, and five years later, I still pick up this book and read a chapter or two to inspire myself

Hentoff is that rare creature who really believes in free speech even for those who express views he abhors; he is one of the most intellectually honest writers and thinkers ever. He has a light, non-didactic style and a knack for telling the real world stories that underly each chapter. He genuinely doesn't care which side of the political spectrum is the censor or the censored, so his book is accessible and fair to all. The descriptions of events at Yale are particularly spot-on.

Nat Hentoff is one of the few writers who has not been selective in his defense of the First Amendment--the only absolute, no-exceptions law in the United States. As a result, he has been castigated by both the Left and the Right, depending on whose right to free speech is endangered.



He performs an invaluable public service when he exposes the inherent hypocrisy of groups claiming that their First Amendement rights are being disrespected. Evangelical Christians wring their hands ad nauseam and wail about how the ACLU would make it illegal for someone to sit under a tree riding the Bible. Even worse than the sheer idiocy of this prediction is the fact that the same evangelical Christian would happily take away my right to sit under the adjacent tree reading HUSTLER. Although it revolts me, I know that someone else can ride the city bus reading MEIN KAMPF and be 100% within their rights.



I encourage anyone who wants to keep the future of free expression alive--either as a consumer or as a creator, or both--to read FREE SPEECH FOR ME, BUT NOT FOR THEE. Hentoff spoke of his own brushes with it when, during his days as a VILLAGE VOICE commentator, he was censored

I first read this in college in the mid-1990's when a professor assigned it. It made me think and question about what it means when we say we protect freedom of speech. To truly protect that right, that means you have to allow speech even when you don't like or disagree with what is being said. Fast forward to the last 4 years. Americans of all people are responding to speech they don't like with death threats -- makes me wonder why we are so scared of others having a difference of opinion.

I had read Hentoff's weekly newspaper column for quite a while before I happened upon his book on the library shelf. I liked his column, and so I picked up his book. I thought it was a pretty good read in and of itself, but I really enjoyed it for the list of books he discusses