Free speech wins, loses

An Associated Press story, "Iraqis shun society of silence, embrace culture of chatter" (Green Bay Press-Gazette, 4/20, p. A-4) on post-war in Iraq sounded a welcome tone of note while providing reason to wonder.

The story told how Iraqis can talk about whatever they choose without fear of arrest, torture or death since the United States ousted Saddam Hussein. That is certainly welcome news to Americans, whose Constitution guarantees free speech.

At the same time, in our own country Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks found that her remarks criticizing Pres. Bush resulted in radio stations pulling the group's music. And Ed Gernon, a longtime head of the movie and miniseries divison at Alliance Atlantis, was fired for comparing the climate in America before the invasion of Iraq to the Germany that produced the Third Reich. Both paid the price not because their work was found artistically lacking, but because of what they said completely separate from their work.

There are differences between how Iraqis were treated under Hussein and how Maines and Gernon were dealt with. The chief one is that the Iraqi government punished free speech, while in the U.S. private employers and individuals did so. But it was still a sad day for free speech.