When rights are left

Part of the definition of a right — a human right, a civil right (aren’t those interchangeable?) — is that they’re unalienable [or inalienable], to borrow and twist an independent, declarable phrase. Yet Alberto Gonzales the attorney general of the United States said on ABC’s “This Week” today there is some flex to the First Amendment right of a free press:

The attorney general reiterated that the rights of a free press cannot trump national security but added, “I understand very much the role the press plays in our society.” When asked whether journalists should be prosecuted for publishing classified material, Gonzales answered, “It depends on the circumstances. … We have an obligation to make sure the people are protected.”

This is hard to disagree with, until you sort it out, until you recall how recent and historic events show how fast-spreading the exceptions to rights can be and how the free flow of news and opinion invariably strengthens democracy. Security is not the be-all and end-all in a republic, even though the voting majority thinks so; freedom is (constitutional, responsible freedom, of course).

Then again, freedom of speech as also guaranteed in the First Amendment includes boos and hisses, but at a high school graduation, that’s plain rude, as well as a bad lesson for still-impressionable 18-year-olds. That happened in my occasionally liberal city yesterday, as reported in the Northwest Arkansas Times.

As [teacher Robert] Neralich challenged students to question controversial issues such as immigration, oil prices and economy, audience members showed mixed emotions. While most offered supportive applause, others shouted for Neralich to get off the stage.

Can you imagine? The Fayetteville Morning News reported that Neralich has been student-selected speaker 11 of the last 12 years.

If rights are unalienable, only aliens will have rights. -30-