Overview

With the government granting itself sweeping new surveillance powers, castigating its critics as unpatriotic, and equating differing opinions with abetting ""America's enemies,"" free speech seems an early casualty of the war on terrorism. But as this book brilliantly demonstrates, to sacrifice our freedom of speech is to surrender the very heart and soul of America. Nan Levinson tells the stories of twenty people who refused to let anyone whittle away at their right to speak, think, create, or demur as they pleased. Among these sometimes unlikely defenders of the cause of free speech are a diplomat who disclosed secret information about government misconduct in Guatemala, a Puerto Rican journalist who risked going to prison to protect her sources, a high school teacher who discussed gays and lesbians in literature, a fireman who fought for his right to read Playboy at work, and a former porn star who defended her performance piece as art. Caught up in conflicts that are alarming, complex, confusing, mean, or just plain silly, their cases are both emblematic and individually revealing, affording readers a rich variety of perspectives on the issues surrounding free speech debates. In an engaging, anecdotal style, Levinson explores the balance between First Amendment and other rights, such as equality, privacy, and security; the relationship among behavior, speech, and images; the tangle of suppression, marketing, and politics; and the role of dissent in our society. These issues come to vibrant life in the stories recounted in Outspoken, stories that-whether heroic or infamous, outrageous or straightforward-remind us again and again of the power of words and of the strength of a democracy of voices.

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9780520249974

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Reviews

Journalist Levinson captures the vibrancy and cacophony of democracy through the stories of 20 protagonists who voiced discordant views and tested society's commitment to free expression.... [t]hese engagingly narrated personal dramas provide a remarkably panoramic view of American society through the lens of free expression issues. - A. B. Cochran, Choice Through biographical accounts of people in the post-September 11th United States, policies and practices surrounding the First Amendment are explored. The struggle to take full advantage of what many consider an inalienable right is played out in various arenas; from the educational system to the artistic and publishing worlds. The stories remind us of the power and importance of the individual voice. - Women's Review of Books America's national obsession with asserting, and quelling, free-speech comes alive in this collection of profiles of First Amendment firebrands.... The author goes beyond the usual polarized corners of political correctness.... her nuanced treatment of all sides of the debate makes this a revealing exploration of the social meaning of words. - Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Nan Levinson is a journalist in Boston and a lecturer at Tufts University.

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