I found this to be particularly disturbing...

Half of Americans Oppose First Amendment Freedoms

From: Liberator Online, Vol. 7, No. 15

The First Amendment is a victim of the War on Terror, and a record number of Americans now favor limiting First Amendment freedoms.

Those are some of the disturbing findings of a major new national survey.

The annual "State of the First Amendment" survey has been conducted since 1997 by the First Amendment Center, a non-profit educational organization that works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education.

The latest edition of the survey was released this week.

For the first time, almost half (49%) of Americans surveyed said the First Amendment "goes too far in the rights it guarantees" -- a 10-percentage-point jump from 2001, which, analysts say, suggests new public concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The survey also found, once again, that most Americans are abysmally ignorant about the First Amendment.

"The stakes have risen for the First Amendment in the wake of September 11," said Ken Paulson, executive director of the First Amendment Center. "The results of our 2002 survey suggest that many Americans view these fundamental freedoms as possible obstacles in the war on terrorism."

"That's not to suggest a monolithic response to these core First Amendment values. In truth, Americans are of multiple minds about the 45 words drafted by James Madison," Paulson said. "While a majority says they respect the First Amendment, a significant percentage seems inclined to rewrite it."

The least popular First Amendment right -- as in past years -- was once again freedom of the press. Forty-two percent of respondents said the press in America has too much freedom to do what it wants, roughly the same level as last year.

Additional findings:

* About half of those surveyed said the American press has been too aggressive in asking government officials for information about the war on terrorism.

* More than four in 10 said they would limit the academic freedom of professors and bar criticism of government military policy.

* About half of those surveyed said government should be able to monitor religious groups in the interest of national security, even if that means infringing upon religious freedom.

* More than four in 10 said the government should have greater power to monitor the activities of Muslims living in the United States than it does other religious groups.

The survey also found, as in previous years, that many Americans are unable to name the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. The percentages of those responding who were able to identify individual freedoms:

* 58% -- freedom of speech

* 18% -- freedom of religion

* 14% -- freedom of the press

* 10% -- freedom of assembly/association

* 2% -- freedom of petition

"It's ironic that many Americans have doubts about these fundamental freedoms in the wake of the terrorist attacks," Paulson said.

"When President Bush addressed the nation last September 20, he cautioned us that "freedom and fear are at war." President Bush noted that the terrorists targeted the United States because we embrace liberty. "The terrorists hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other," the president told us.

"In other words, the terrorists view our personal liberties with contempt and see them as a weakness.

"The challenge for all Americans -- today more than ever -- is to truly embrace the freedoms of the First Amendment and show just how strong we really are."

Full copies of the survey and methodology, along with commentary and analysis, can be found at the links below.

(Sources: First Amendment Center survey: Click Here;

Additional commentary at American Journalism Review: Click Here)