Last month, three professors made statements that many considered treasonous. Each said that their statements were protected speech.
The Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom of the American Association of University Professors says that faculty must take care “not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject.”
The Statement also says that when faculty make statements “as citizens,” they should “exercise appropriate restraint,” knowing that the public will judge both their profession and their institution by such remarks. Professors are called upon to “demonstrate respect for students as individuals and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors.”
On the evening of Sept. 10, citizens of Amherst, Mass., debated whether flying 29 American flags on lamp posts throughout the city was appropriate for the city.
The Wall Street Journal said Professor Jennie Traschen, a University of Massachusetts physics professor, “said that the flag had not always represented policies to be proud of.” She then said that: “What the flag is, is a symbol of terrorism and death and fear and destruction and oppression.”
On Sept. 11, when Professor Richard Berthold of the University of New Mexico heard that a civilian airline had crashed into the Pentagon, he told his class that: “Anyone who can blow up the Pentagon has my vote.”
Professor Berthold told the Santa Fe New Mexican, that he was sorry that he made the statement but defended his right to free speech in the classroom. “I was a jerk, but the First Amendment protects my right to be a jerk.”
Two days later, Professor Robert Jensen of the University of Texas at Austin wrote the Houston Chronicle that the “U.S. [was] just as guilty of committing own violent acts.” Jensen said:
Like everyone in the United States and around the world, I shared the deep sadness at the deaths of thousands.
But as I listened to people around me talk, I realized the anger and fear I felt were very different, for my primary anger is directed at the leaders of this country and my fear is not only for the safety of Americans but for innocent civilians in other countries.
It should need not be said, but I will say it: The acts of terrorism that killed civilians in New York and Washington were reprehensible and indefensible – to try to defend them would be to abandon one’s humanity. No matter what the motivation of the attackers, the method is beyond discussion.
But this act was no more despicable than the massive acts of terrorism – the deliberate killing of civilians for political purposes – that the U.S. government has committed during my lifetime. For more than five decades, throughout the Third World, the United States has deliberately targeted civilians or engaged in violence so indiscriminate that there is no other way to understand it except as terrorism. And it has supported similar acts of terrorism by client states.
Were these statements protected by the First Amendment and the principle of academic freedom?
The concept of academic freedom is a keystone of our system of liberty. It protects the right of professors and students to vigorously debate issues without being censored. That freedom helps students learn how to think for themselves.
But, academic freedom is not absolute. No one has a First Amendment right to yell “fire” in a crowded movie theater. Academic freedom does not give professors the right to commit acts of treason against America.
Professor’s Jensen and Traschen words are deeply offensive. People who harbor such hate for the United States shouldn’t be teaching at “government” schools. But while I find their statements to be repugnant, I believe their comments are protected by both the First Amendment and the principles of academic freedom.
I cannot say the same, however, for Professor Berthold’s comments. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary says that “In the United States, treason is confined to the actual levying of war against the United States, or to an adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
Professor Berthold’s words were not the statements of a jerk. Professor Berthold specifically endorsed the murder of hundreds of civilians and military personnel at the very time our enemies were attacking America.
Professor Berthold’s words are not protected speech – they are the words of a traitor. They specifically endorsed and gave aid and comfort to our enemies as thousands of innocent people were being slaughtered.
The University of New Mexico must fire him immediately. The United States Attorney for New Mexico must charge and try him for treason.
It is vitally important that we protect academic freedom. It is even more important that acts of treason be prosecuted. To do less is to dishonor the thousands who were murdered on Sept. 11.
