EMMA GOLDMAN

Emma Goldman was a revolutionary in these United States. While she stood for anarchism, one must first understand what she meant by that term. As stated in her essay “Anarchism: What It Really Stands For”, she writes: “Anarchism is impractical, though a beautiful ideal. Second, Anarchism stands for violence and destruction, hence it must be repudiated as vile and dangerous. Both the intelligent man and the ignorant mass judge not from a thorough knowledge of the subject, but either from hearsay or false interpretation.”. Whether she has a greater knowledge of the subject, and whether it would be possible for her to spread that concept to the majority of mankind of is definitely an important question. But what may be more important was the way she was treated inside the confines of the United States.

Although the US is reputed to be the center for freedom of speech, and freedom of press, it is obvious that it does not stand up to these “beautiful ideals”. Emma Goldman, exercising her right to free speech, spoke her feelings on such subjects as birth control, the draft, and anarchism through lectures, and the many essays which can be viewed through the link above. She was not a violent person as many believe all anarchists are. During 1917 to 1919, she served a 2 year prison sentence and was fined $10,000 for speaking out against military conscription. This was viewed as conspiracy (with her partner Alexander Berkman) by the government and the courts. Simply put, because she exercised her right to free speech, Goldman was put behind bars and fined a huge sum of money. After the end of her prison term, she was deported back to Russia with 248 others, including Berkman. She was no longer allowed to live, or travel to, the United States because of her views. This is a very good example of exactly how hipocritical we the United States can truly be. Goldman was allowed to be buried near Chicago in a cemetery with many of her anarchist “conspirators”.

It is my opinion that times have not changed as much as we wish they had. While people are no longer deported or sent to jail for their views, they are often silenced. Martin Luther King, Jr. is another good example of this. He was often denied his right to free speech because he had revolutionary views, and most importantly, because he was black.

Goldman should never have been deported, imprisoned, or even warned because of her views because she was only exercising her right to free speech. Had she and her cause been a violent one, it would be much easier to accept the government’s actions as right and just. One line from Goldman’s Anarchism Papers rings especially true in this case “Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.”