Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Freedom at risk

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 4:56 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 24 - 25, 2004

"There's something happening here, What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there, Telling me I got to beware."

IN THE BRIGHT light of hindsight, we all know what Buffalo Springfield was singing about during the Vietnam War. While it may not have been clear at the time, they understood that something was wrong in these United States and that, whatever it was, it wasn't good.

I don't think we need to wait a generation to understand what is going on in this country in 2004, even though to many people, what is happening here "ain't exactly clear" and, therefore, gives them no reason to beware.

To those people I would say, pay attention to the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Because what happened there last week is a very clear indication of what is wrong with our country and what, if we don't find a way out of this mess, will threaten our democracy surer than any enemy from beyond our shores.

And, yes, Linda Ronstadt and anyone else in America with a political opinion is wearing a bull's-eye in this battle for the very heart and soul of America.

In case you haven't noticed, the Internet is the most organized method of political intervention ever devised by man or either of the two major political parties in this country. Within seconds of an unfavorable story in the mainstream media -- no matter how accurate it may be -- there is a barrage of e-mails sent from places most people never heard of by people, I can only assume, who follow directions well even if they don't know whereof they speak.

That was the case this past week as hundreds of e-mails flowed into my computer -- I can only imagine the letters that those closer to the story got -- from people who were outraged. Either they were outraged because of what happened to Linda Ronstadt or because of what she said at her concert to upset a few people.

I think both sides have missed the real story. If there is to be outrage, and there certainly should be, it has to be directed at the management of the Aladdin Hotel, which made the decision to remove the offending entertainer from the premises posthaste so she wouldn't upset the guests who, my instincts tell me, have been upset about one thing or the other for a very long time. When the hotel's president, who proudly claims British heritage, decided to make Linda leave rather than the boorish, childish, rude and obnoxious concertgoers who threw drinks at the stage and laid siege to some posters, he made what would have been a very British mistake.

If I remember my history correctly, one of the reasons the colonists revolted against King George was because they honored freedom of speech and his majesty didn't. I thought that kind of muddle-headed thinking was a thing of the very distant past. Obviously not.

What does surprise me is the level of rage apparent in some of these e-mails. Many people think that Linda Ronstadt owes fealty to the almighty entertainment dollar and not her conscience, making her one of the few entertainers to be so muzzled in such a public and disgraceful manner. And all she really did was recommend a movie, the same thing I did in this space a couple of weeks ago and the same thing many open-minded, clear-thinking Americans have done ever since Michael Moore's movie debuted as a smash hit last month.

Linda didn't tell people how to vote, she didn't mandate that they go posthaste to the theater without stopping and she didn't tell them how to think about what they would see. She merely recommended a movie!

For that she was removed from the Aladdin and threatened with non-appearances there for as long as the fellow who runs it continues to do so. That may be a short-lived promise since the new owners take over shortly and their views of the First Amendment may differ significantly from the Brit's. There are a number of shows on the Strip that express the political biases of the entertainers. That doesn't stop the rich and poor, young and old, Democrat and Republican and every other kind of melted-into-the-pot American from enjoying the shows or, at least, most of them.

Other than a boo or two, drowned out by the appreciative applause of the fans who paid good money to be entertained, there are no drinks thrown, no posters ripped from the walls and no spoiled patrons demanding their money back. And, for certain, there is no management escorting Danny Gans and Dennis Miller through the door to the next part of their careers.

So, why this time? Why the Aladdin? Why Linda Ronstadt? My belief is that this country has become so polarized -- not only in its political thought but also by the ways and means through which it gains needed information to make a serious attempt to govern the most powerful country and people on the planet -- that there is little room left for responsible political discourse. What would have been shrugged off or gone unnoticed just a few years ago -- a plug for a movie -- has now become a cause celebre for people who have allowed themselves to be manipulated by those who view politics as a game of power rather than the means to a more perfect union.

What was wrong with the man who runs the Aladdin and what is wrong with all the people who have written and e-mailed me complaining about Ronstadt's political opinions, is that they do not understand the Constitution of the United States and they don't seem motivated enough to try. It doesn't take a genius to know that the free and open exchange of ideas is the bulwark of a free society. Trying to shut off debate is not only foolish but dangerous because if all we know as voters is what one side of the debate wishes us to know, then our decisions will be missing a vital element known as truth.

Regardless of your opinion of Michael Moore, intelligent people cannot possibly think that mistreating Linda Ronstadt will advance their own particular cause. What it should do is get the typical right-winging celebrities -- those who profess devotion to the Constitution, including the First Amendment -- to speak out loudly and often against the manhandling of a fellow entertainer by a Las Vegas hotel.

And if the Dennis Millers of the world are silent on this matter or take up for those who would censor all with whom they disagree, then his conservative American colors should be questioned. I don't think that will happen. In this case, what happened in Vegas has not stayed in Vegas because what happened is as ugly and un-American an action as can be imagined.

Grown-ups acting like spoiled children, with no manners and no concept of what it means to be an American, have caused front pages around the world to focus on their stupidity. It was not a pretty picture and no amount of e-mails to the contrary can make it so. What happened here is exactly clear to all who will open their eyes. And if we condone it then I, not Buffalo Springfield, am telling you to beware. Beware what we are doing to our great democracy and the freedoms for which it stands.

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