Standing Up For Madison: A History Lesson, Courtesy Of the Sun

One of the columns in yesterday’s Sun attempted to give us a simple lesson: don’t be an @$$hole on the Internet.  Surely a noble goal – I know that I for one could do with less mindless and anonymous name-calling.  The essay relates the existence of some distasteful threads in one of the author’s Blackboard discussions to a perceived notion that with freedom of speech comes the responsibility to take credit for one’s words.

However, the piece was called Why Madison is Rolling Over in His Grave.  I believe a history lesson is in order.  The title is referring to James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, who is often called the Father of the Constitution for his work in crafting and defending it.  He was also one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, one of the most famous and influential works ever to be published anonymously.  Writing under the pseudonym Publius, Madison (along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay) crafted a series of essays to convince New York State to ratify the Constitution.  The collection of essays remains one of the most important explanations of the Constitution, and it has been cited in countless legal opinions.

“When we do not own our words, the freedom to use them means nothing,” wrote Sun columnist Hannah Deixler, but Madison clearly valued the freedom to speak anonymously.  He and other early Americans (such as Thomas Paine, whose famous pamphlet Common Sense bore only “written by an Englishman” as its authorship) knew that exercising their freedom of speech could prove dangerous, and that anonymity is the best protection against physical or libelous retaliation for one who shares a controversial opinion.  This holds true whether the persecution is from the British army or from a kid in a chat room.

Continuing the history lesson, let us examine another one of the column’s claims – that Madison would want a Constitutional amendment, “Promoting the value of filtering one’s thoughts,” if he could see the sorry way we often treat one another today.  Madison was not a big proponent of amending the Constitution.  The Federalist Papers make the case against a bill of rights, and although Madison did later author the Bill of Rights to ensure the ratification of the Constitution, he thought it a superfluous and dangerous list to include in the nation’s charter.

Even if it is not a serious claim, the column’s call for something as serious as a Constitutional amendment to encourage being polite on the web should be looked at critically.  Must government be the first line of defense against every societal problem?  The Founders thought not.  They shaped a government system that protects the most basic natural rights, not one that protects people from criticism, juvenile and ad hominem as most of it may be these days.  It is this proposal that would have Madison rolling over in his grave, not the lack of civility by anonymous citizen surfers.  That problem he would leave to the proper authorities: parents who should teach their offspring that prudence and propriety should be displayed regardless of whether or not there will be consequences, and individuals who should (most of the time) take responsibility for their actions and words.