Amendment 1 does allow for outright, purposeful lying, with very few exceptions.
Those who tend to use the media to spread both misinformation and disinformation have an agenda. More, they tend to come from two groups: government and corporations. At times, there has been -- and should be -- a healthy tension between government and corporations. Sad to say that in this era, the two have an extremely close relationship; the dangers this poses to our constitutional democracy far outweight any external threat.
Two weeks ago, I drove north .....l from rural central New York, to an even more rural part of the state, to pick my daughter up from St. Lawrence University (those familiar with it can appreciate how rural it is). I was listening to CDs .... Plastic Ono Band, Hendrix, the Doors ..... which likely dates me ..... and in between, I put on the radio, hoping to hear the news. By chance, one station was playing Glen Beck, who was interviewing Ted Nugget. I listened as long as I could stand to, probably two minutes. Both were spouting nonsense. I questioned: did they know they were full of crap, or did they actually believe such things? Either way, it strikes me as obscene, but I would not seek to silence them.
Our democracy -- what remains of it -- provides both rights and responsibilities. For example, even before the internet, if one was serious, they could do the work required to find accurate information. It often required going to the public library, and ordering a hard-to-find book. Or subscribing to what was known as an underground newspaper. But that effort would be rewarded.
More, we have the responsibility to confront the outright lies of government and corporations. It would be impossible to confront each and every one, of course, but creativity allows us avenues to spread the truth. And that means exercising those muscles that are defined in that Bill of Rights.
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