The boundaries of democracy (fwd)

[Publib Poster]

Sender: <ALON at michlala.ash-college.ac.il>
Subject: The boundaries of democracy

On the above subject, which has been discussed lately on the screens 
of this Digest, I would like to recommend a book on the subject:

Author: Cohen-Almagor, Raphael
Title: The boundaries of liberty and tolerance
Sub-tl: the struggle against Kahanism in Israel
Place: Gainesville
Publish: Univ. Pr. of Florida
Year: c1994
ISBN: 965-442-006-6

The author contends that every form of government is characterized
by the fact that the foundations of the system may leave an opening
for its own potential destruction.
Without being apocalyptic, it may be an interesting lesson on how
democracies can deal with extremist groups without compromising the
basic tenets of the society.

The proposed legislation in the U.S. censoring the Internet, and 
handing out fines of $100,000 is another matter entirely, and one
which I find very alarming.  Let's say some guy writes on the Email
to his girl-friend and tells her exactly what appeals to him about
her, or she tells him.  Are they going to be hauled into court and
fined?  Who should be monitoring their e-letters in the first place?
Or let's say kids in the US are bringing over porno pictures from 
Sweden or Holland. How does the law deal with it?  The law is 
unenforceable, and the attempt to do so could trample over a lot of
people's privacy and rights.

Alan Klamkin
Ashkelon College
Ashkelon, Israel