When Harry Met Censorship

Harry Belafonte is best known as a calypso singer. Did you see the movie "Beetle Juice?" It featured a memorable scene in which a group of friends seated at a table involuntarily began singing along to "The Banana Boat Song," which many refer to as "Day-O." That is Harry Belafonte's music.

Harry Belafonte's message is more about politics, and is especially focused on America's foreign policy and civil liberties, about which he has been very outspoken for years. There is a new documentary, Sing Your Song, which details his life and his work. Belafonte once expressed his concern about censorship with a memorable quote, "You can cage the singer, but not the song." It is such a great quote, I decided to paraphrase Belafonte in naming my blog. Like Belafonte, I am greatly concerned about protecting our civil liberties. People who wish to violate our Constitutional rights often ask, "why should you worry if you have nothing to hide?" You'll hear that question when it comes to full-body searches at airports, unwarranted sneak and peek break-ins of citizens' homes by government agents, or random drug tests in our workplaces.

I wonder why the same people who use that defense feel it doesn't apply when it comes to WikiLeaks? They say it is perfectly alright for little Susie the retail clerk to lose her job because a random drug test revealed she smoked a joint once last month, but it is off limits for an elected official's illegal actions to be revealed. Do WikiLeaks' opponents wish Richard Nixon's crimes had gone unreported and unpunished? Are we better off knowing the types of things Salon.com points out are the most important in its 10 Most Important WikiLeaks Revelations? I wonder if WikiLeaks would even be relevant if our media was not dropping the ball on performing its job as government watchdog.

My blog will not be limited to questions of censorship or freedom of the press. I simply wish to point out some issues that might warrant discussion and closer scrutiny. And, if it also makes people jump up and sing "Day-O" then that is fine, too.