Tuesday, March 21, 2006


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ART
AS
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
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During the mid-1990's, a Federal Appeals Court ruled that the arts are protected under the freedom-of-speech guarantee of the Constitution, and that artists would be permitted to show and sell their work on the sidewalks of New York.

Before that decision, Manhattan's artists were subjected to arrests, fines, and confiscation of their work, because they "set up shop" on the city's sidewalks without a street vendor license.

My own town doesn't seem to have any respect for the Constitution. Nor does it regard art as a protected form of freedom-of-speech. Its backward City Council has passed numerous ordinances that forbid artists and performers from using our city's sidewalks for anything.

As a result, my town is deader than dead, void of art and music or other kinds of fun happenings, and even pedestrians avoid using our sidewalks.

So why do we have them?

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