#141:In Defense Of Michael Savage
I was driving yesterday behind a car with an Obama/Biden bumper sticker next to one that proclaimed "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." I am in complete agreement with the latter statement and think that it is even more important to keep in mind right now. If dissent IS the highest form of patriotism, then why aren't more people upset with what has happened to Michael Savage? In one of the more disturbing cases of a supposedly democratic government suppressing free speech in recent memory, the United Kingdom put conservative talk radio show host Michael Savage on a list of people who were not allowed to enter the country. Savage was put on this list by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, which includes Russian skinheads, Islamic terrorists and Klansmen, because "This is someone who has fallen into the category of fomenting hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way that it is actually likely to cause inter-community tension or even violence if that person were allowed into the country."
Savage has fought back, saying that his words were not only taken out of context, but that he has never advocated violence towards any group on his radio show, “The Savage Nation.” Savage has brought a defamation lawsuit against Smith, demanding an apology and to have his name taken off of the list. He has also gone on BBC Radio to explain himself to the British public(Here is a link to Savage’s clips of the same interview). As of today, Savage’s counterattack has worked, as Smith has resigned as Home Secretary , ostensibly because she is one of the many MP’s who have been charging things to the British taxpayer’s tab.
I am amazed by the lack of outrage by the mainstream media, both on the left and the right over the treatment of Michael Savage. I switch between the local conservative talk radio station and NPR so I can get a better picture of what is going on in the world and have listened to Savage for the past few months. Savage is a self-described “independent conservative,” who excoriates, in fiery rhetoric, the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations as well as Rupert Murdoch and the liberal media. He does not spare anyone or their feelings, using very colorful, mocking language to criticize their actions and policies. That being said, it is safe to say that he does not have many allies on either side, which makes the deafening silence over the British government’s attack upon Savage’s character even more disturbing.
Savage is not your average conservative talk show host; he has a Ph. D in Nutritional Ethnomedicine and has written many books both as Michael Weiner and his nom de radio. He is not a cheerleader for the Republican party by any means and calls it as he sees it. His style is not for everyone, but whatever happened to "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it?"
The whole point of the defense of free speech worldwide and the First Amendment in America is to defend the right of everyone to say their opinion without fear of retribution. Putting a radio talk show host on a list with dangerous people who have committed or supported acts of violence against particular groups, regardless of his political leanings, is a disturbing precedent to say the least. This is an attempt to silence someone based on their (in this case, fill in the blank with conservative) political views by taking their words out of context. I think it is always healthy to maintain a skeptical attitude towards whoever is in power and stay independent, especially when the Obama administration doesn’t want the conservatives to take Judge Sotomayor’s words “out of context.” If this is not a case of “if you’re not outraged, then you aren’t paying attention,” then I don’t know what is.
I wanted to close with a bit of poetry by Martin Neimoller that was hammered into my head during my freshman year of high school:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
santo26 on 06.03.09 @ 01:30 PM EST [link]
