Opinion
 

Art limits obstruct free speech

Alex Wukman
Opinion Columnist

It's interesting how much art scares people. No matter how realized the art or how original the message being conveyed is, if the art is in anyway different, new or risk-taking it seems that some elements in society have a knee-jerk-to-someone-else's-groin reaction to it.

It doesn't matter if the art is contemporary. What matters is that someone doesn't like the art's message, and that's where it all starts -- the pickets, the policies and finally the censoring. All of which, when seriously thought about, are asinine.

In fact, it almost qualifies as oxymoronic to put limits on free speech. Come to think of it, it does qualify as oxymoronic to do so. After all, the operative word in the phrase free speech is free.

Of course there are the common sense limits to free speech -- like we can't scream fire in a crowded theater. Then there is the limit of having to tell the truth -- after all no one wants to listen to a pack of lies, even if they are interesting ones -- so no one can say that George W. Bush is a great president. Besides it's such a blatant lie that no one would believe it. 

However, these limits on free speech are pretty fluid and change with the situation. Think about it: fire can be screamed in a crowded theatre if it is done so on-stage as part of a performance. Which leads to the issue of art versus reality and the varying rules that have to be placed on the two.

If a person on the street says that Rick Perry is a great governor, he or she would be lying. However, if the same person gets onstage in front of an audience and says that Rick Perry is a great governor then it must be respected because it's onstage after all, and that makes it art.

The funny thing is that art isn't just limited to being on stage. It can also be done with paint. That can lead to some problems because you have to figure out what can and can't be painted on. It seems that some surfaces just can't be painted on while others can. Canvas, for example, is a given -- everyone can paint on canvas. Everyone that can afford it, that is.

Brick, on the other hand -- well only certain people and certain things can be painted on brick. After all, you just can't go up and paint your name on any brick you see. It might belong to someone else and the owner of the brick might get offended that you claimed that brick as your own.

Then, even if you have the permission of the people who own the brick, you'd better be careful before you start painting on it because the cops may not understand that someone said it was okay for you to paint their brick. The police might put you in handcuffs, which your tax dollars paid for, throw you in the back of their car, which you also paid for, and take you to the jail that runs off your taxes -- all for legally painting someone else's brick with their blessing.

Apparently illegal brick painting is an epidemic: the Houston Police Department has a task force set up. So, beware, all you illegal brick painters; the cops maybe coming after you.

Wukman, a junior English major, 
can be reached at alex_wukman@hotmail.com.