On Tuesday I stopped by the Freedom Forum's conference, where they released a report on the state of the First Amendment. It's worth checking out: http://www.freedomforum.org/newsstand/reports/sofa/intro.asp Each day of this nation's life, in meetings of school boards, library boards, city councils, state legislatures, and Congress itself, figures of respect and renown rise on behalf of a supportive public and proclaim, "I believe in the First Amendment, but—" Each such announcement precedes a proposal to regulate our speech in order to elevate our lives. And so we have one of the more equisite ironies of a freedom-loving society: Americans truly believe they believe in free speech. Still, there is always that "but," that qualification of their commitment to the rights and values embedded in those 45 words of the First Amendment. In survey after survey, Americans stand steadfast in support of the general notion of free speech. In the particulars, however, we waver. When asked to countenance the very speech the First Amendment was drawn to protect—the speech of the radical, the rascal, even the revolting—we become unsure. We do believe in free speech for ourselves, but for the most part we are not so sure about others, especially those whose words offend our taste, threaten our children, or challenge our convictions. Also at the conference: http://www.freedomforum.org/first/1997/12/16sofa.asp Keynote speaker Keen Umbehr told the audience that he lost his job, his community and even family and friends during his First Amendment battle with the county commission in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Umbehr, who had a contract to haul the county's trash, also wrote editorials for the local newspaper, often alleging violations of law and other misconduct by the county commission. "What I wrote was true, and I could back it up," Umbehr said. "I believed that my constitutional rights were live and real, waiting to be activated. I felt that writing articles and speaking out about the government not only was my right, it was my duty to speak the truth, regardless of the fact that my whole livelihood was based on that county contract." The county terminated his contract in retaliation for his articles. Umbehr sued, and the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In June 1996 the court upheld Umbehr's free-speech rights. "The troops on the front lines of the First Amendment fight desperately need some help," Umbehr told the audience of attorneys, scholars and experts. "You have the knowledge in here, and they need it out there." -Declan