I would only draw the line at directly inciting violence or destruction, which of course does bring in some troubling grey areas or interpretation, but I think is necessary.
Other than that, any religious or philosophical ideology should be freely expressed, no matter how disgusting they are, or if they could be taken to promote violence in extreme cases. Basically because of the slippery slope argument, once you give the government power to censor some viewpoints, it's a short step to censoring other harmless groups when the prevailing ideology shifts.
Additionally, any position held by us rational people should be able to hold up against any argument presented by other groups. It doesn't do us good to insulate ourselves from others opinions.
As far as the forums go, I'd say there is a fair amount of curtailing of freedom of speech in this friendly dictatorship, but because it's a completely voluntary experience that doesn't actually impose upon people's 'real lives', it isn't an issue.
The mods are totally essential to keeping the forum running smoothly, someone has to protect us from the idiots roaming the internet.
|