The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And there never is a shortage of paving contractors.
There always are people who deny an inconvenient truth. But even worse, many of these people will attempt stop others from voicing that inconvenient truth.
The word for this ugly practice is censorship. And censorship is a hand over humanity’s mouth.
Freedom of expression is a core belief — perhaps the core belief — of our country. The right to not only think our own thoughts but to express them is the hallmark of a free society.
When freedom of expression is denied, or attacked, all Americans are diminished. Something precious to us all has bee jeopardized.
Freedom of expression has no town borders. So, it is incumbent on us, as Americans, to speak out in defense of freedom when we learn it is under attack.
Thus, while I live in a suburb, it is right to speak out against an attack on freedom of expression in Chicago.
You may have heard that director Spike Lee is making a film about Chicago. The title will be “Chiraq.”
This will not be a film about the Chicago the mayor and chamber of commerce want publicized, the Chicago of Millennium Park, Trump Tower, museums and lakefronts.
This movie will be about the other Chicago, the poor Chicago, the shooting Chicago, the Chicago boosters would like the world not to notice.
Chicago officialdom wants Lee to at least change the film’s title. For some this is more than a request. At least one alderman is threatening to withhold tax breaks that can be granted to filmmakers who shoot movies in Chicago.
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Apparently, censorship likes to be accompanied by threats.
It’s a slippery slope. Denying reality leads to censorship and leads to threats. But instead of trying to cover up inconvenient truths, wouldn’t it be better for Chicago officials to attempt to deal with the reasons why some view Chicago as Chiraq?
Chiraq isn’t just unpleasant public relations. Chiraq is a dangerous condition under which thousands of people must live.
Helping the plight of these people is what should be job one for public officials, not pretending there is no plight.