The Most Important Lesson
From FOXNews.com:
The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald’s meals for a month for his Oscar-nominated film “Super Size Me” gave a profanity-laced, politically incorrect speech at a suburban Philadelphia high school, but not everyone was lovin’ it.
Speaking at Hatboro-Horsham High School’s first-ever health fair, Morgan Spurlock joked about the intelligence of McDonald’s employees, about “retarded kids in the back wearing helmets” and teachers smoking pot in the balcony.
In the end, Spurlock had this to say about his speech: “The greatest lesson those kids learned today was the importance of free speech.”
Congratulations, Spurlock. If I recall you were invited to speak at a health fair presumably due to your quasi-qualifications as the producer of a health documentary. Instead you turned it into a forum to exploit your classic misunderstanding of the first amendment.
The first amendment is an extremely important part of our constitution, but it is not an important amendment because it gives anyone the right and power to say anything they want to. It is not a carte blanche to spew valueless smut. As the Supreme Court put it, in the decision of Roth vs. United States:
(a) In the light of history, it is apparent that the unconditional phrasing of the First Amendment was not intended to protect every utterance. Pp. 482-483.
(b) The protection given speech and press was fashioned to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people. P. 484.
(c) All ideas having even the slightest redeeming social importance - unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of opinion - have the full protection of the guaranties, unless excludable because they encroach upon the limited area of more important interests; but implicit in the history of the First Amendment is the rejection of obscenity as utterly without redeeming social importance. Pp. 484-485. [354 U.S. 476, 477]
You, Mr. Spurlock, offered nothing of value to society, or of even the slightest social importance. You didn’t even give a speech in line with what you were paid to speak about. In the end, I think the most important lesson we all learn from this, is that Morgan Spurlock is a fool not worth his public-speaking fee.
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March 27th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Yeah, this guy’s a nutjob. Did you hear about the woman who ate at McDonalds 3 meals a day for 3 months and lost 30 lbs.??? Very interesting.
On a related issue, it irks me when people confuse a right to free speech with a right to be heard. When the do-not-call list came out, all the telemarketers said it was a violation of their free speech. Bupkis. Also, during the whole flap about Michael Moore’s visit to UVSC, the smelly hippies tried to turn it into a free-speech issue. Well, Michael Moore can say what he wants, but that doesn’t mean we have to contribute to his personal donut fund and invite him into our living rooms to hear them out.
March 27th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
I attribute this to his arrogance. The special kind that whispers to himself that he doesn’t have to think of something constructive to say. That he can say anything and hide his lack of brilliance behind the 1st amendment. It is easy to tear down. It is much harder to build up. Mr. Spurlock should try building one day — on the rock not the sand.
March 31st, 2006 at 10:06 am
Spurlock reminds me of the classic “cool” high school teacher. Students loved them in high school, but do not respect them when the students have grown up and aren’t teenagers anymore.