Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to talk about one of our most cherished rights as U.S. citizens; that is, the freedom of speech and why allowing our children and young people to exercise this right at a young age is critical to learning and understanding complex and tough issues and ideas. The ability to effectively teach and learn journalism--and for other students to be challenged to engage in public discourse on tough issues--was severely hindered by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1988 in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. The Hazelwood case legitimized a school's decision to remove material about divorce and teen pregnancy from the pages of a student newspaper on the grounds that the material was overly mature for a high school audience. Justice William Brennan, one of the First Amendment's greatest judicial champions, dissented from that ruling in words that resonate with us here today. He said: ``Instead of teaching children to respect the diversity of ideas that is fundamental to the American system and that our Constitution is a living reality, not parchment preserved under glass, the Court today teaches youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.'' History has vindicated Justice Brennan's dire warning.…”