Back To Home Page To Archives - Spring of Life - H. Roger Bothwell On Freedom and Censorship When our elected officials object to pornographic, blasphemous or hate mongering materials being displayed at public expense under the guise of art, they are accused of censorship, an odious charge in a democracy dedicated to the sacred principle of free speech. There is an old expression that goes, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." It is a time-honored principle. If we put money in the jukebox we get to select the tune. If we tip the piano man, he asks what we would like to hear. If we do not enjoy his music we do not forbid nor stop him from playing. He is free to play whatever he wants to his heart's content. Our not paying him is not censorship. It is our freedom to be discerning in how we spend our money. If we as a community are offended by someone's art we should have the right not to have to pay for it. That is not censorship. That is our freedom to be discerning in how we spend our money. Let the artist go and display his or her art somewhere at his or her own expense. Our objection to displaying it in a public center supported with our taxes is not censorship. Censorship would be not allowing the artist to display it under any circumstance. There is nothing wrong and everything right with our community having standards of decency and asking for our money to be used in harmony with our community standards. It is called valuing principles. It is not and never should be labeled censorship. I'm Roger Bothwell and my address is hrb1@tiac.net or 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453. Thank you for your support of our faith ministry. Past devotionals can be accessed at Archives