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We may picture freedom as existing in a forum where the speaker must respond to questions; in a gathering of scientists where the data, the hypothesis, and the conclusion are submitted to men competent to judge them; in a reputable newspaper which not only will publish the opinions of those who disagree but will reexamine its own opinion in the light of what they say.
我们可以设想，自由存在于一个论坛上，发言者必须回答问题；存在于科学家聚集的地方，数据、假设和结论都交给行家去评判；自由还存在于声誉好的报刊上，它不仅刊登各种分歧的意见，而且还据此重新审视自家的看法。
Thus the essence of freedom of opinion is not in mere toleration as such, but in the debate which toleration provides: It is not in the venting of opinion, but in the confrontation of opinion. That this is the practical substance can readily be understood when we remember how differently we feel and act about the censorship and regulation of opinion purveyed by different media of communication. We find then that, in so far as the medium makes difficult the confrontation of opinion in debate, we are driven towards censorship and regulation.
从而舆论自由的实质不仅仅在于宽容本身，而在于宽容带来的争论；不在于观点的表述，而在于观点的对立。我们只要记住，在看待审査和制约不同传播媒体提供的见解上，大家的感受和行为大不相同，就容易理解什么是自由的实质了。我们继而发现，只要传媒使辩论的观点难以交锋，我们就是被迫走向审査和制约的。
There is, for example, the whispering campaign, the circulation of anonymous rumors by men who cannot be compelled to prove what they say. They put the utmost strain on our tolerance, and there are few who do not rejoice when the anonymous slanderer is caught, exposed, and punished. At a higher level there is the moving picture, a most powerful medium for conveying ideas, but a medium which does not permit debate. A moving picture cannot be answered effectively by another moving picture; in all free countries there is some censorship of the movies, and there would be more if the producers did not recognize their limitations by avoiding political controversy. There is then the radio. Here debate is difficult: It is not easy to make sure that the speaker is being answered in the presence of the same audience. Inevitably, there is some regulation of the radio.
比如说，造谣活动，流言蜚语四处传播，而你又无法迫使传谣者证实他们的谎言，这样就使我们忍无可忍。所以当匿名徘谤者终于被抓住曝光并受惩罚时，没有多少人不为之欢欣。在更高层次上有电影，它是传播思想最有力的载体，但也是无法进行辩论的载体。影片相互之间无法做出有力的回答；在所有自由国度里，电影都需经过某些审査。如果制片人未能认识其局限性以免引起政治风波，那么审迕的力度还会增大。接下来还有广播电台，辩论在此难以进行，因为难以保证在回答发言者的问题时听众仍是同一批人。势必要对广播有所制约。
