Free speech is again in the news, but this time in the most
unlikely forums: ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown.

Rush Limbaugh’s remarks referencing Philadelphia’s Donovan
McNabb were intended as a comment on the state of today’s media and
their interpretation of race as a societal issue. Misguided as the
comments were in an arena dealing with sports rather than social
issues, Limbaugh entered into a discourse that deserves attention
from all sides. Limbaugh’s comments are worthy of, at the very
least, discussion. Yet, many discontented voices clamored for his
silence.

This should be troubling to defenders of free speech nationwide.
These advocates of free speech are not lost on this campus.

Clarence Page, while lecturing in Madison just last week on
ethical media practices, was quick to censure Limbaugh’s comments,
but Page added that this nation should be pursuing more discourse
on race, not less. We agree. Nowhere in our readings of the First
Amendment do we see exceptions made for idiocy or lack of tact.
When the national mood shifts from openness to prohibition, it also
shifts from tolerance to intolerance and reason to ignorance. How
we handle differences of culture and race remains an issue in this
multi-ethnic country and on this multi-ethnic campus. To sweep
aside dialogue that may be a bit disquieting is contrary to the
intent of discourse itself.

We as an Editorial Board, and the editors who monitor opinion
content, encourage this discourse whenever a particular opinion is
printed on our pages. We are interested in one thing: presenting a
multi-faceted campus dialogue on issues relevant to students.
Content contributing to this goal deserves and receives such
consideration.

Last week’s cartoon content reflected this desire for such
diverse points of view. As always, we invite response and will make
every effort to print a wide spectrum of ideas on racial politics,
seg-fees or any particular issue of student concern. To this end,
we have printed much of the heated criticism the cartoons
induced.

Our focus remains on presenting a student-oriented forum to
continue the fundamental mission of this University: To continually
sift through the rhetoric and pour through the issues — by this
method alone the truth can be found.

The search is forever hindered when we, as citizens, wish to
silence those who offend us.

The beauty of the First Amendment is that its results can evoke
precisely the feelings in us that motivate vigorous thought and
action. It therefore functions as the fundamental tool for
collective progress and creativity. On the pages of this newspaper,
understanding of open discourse is held as our most important
principle.