by Ann Herron
GUEST COLUMNIST
It is part of your American freedoms to express your feelings how you best see fit. You can make public statements -- or draw a public memorial to a friend -- as long as those actions do not interfere with the law or the freedoms of others.
After Wayne Steele died last month, a group of his friends in Tooele wanted to remember him and his artwork. So they asked Quick Stop owner Narendra Nakar if they could paint a memorial mural on the back of his store. He agreed.
The friends, led by Jeff Eilerts, used some of Steele's artwork and drew a large "tag" art work. It included the figure of a nude woman. A few of the neighbors found it offensive.
Since the offending portion of the picture was quickly covered with white paint, only those who saw the artwork when it was first done could determine if it was appropriate or pornographic. The rest of us were left wondering what was behind the whited-out square, and whether or not we would have seen it as vulgar or simply risqué.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it."
Freedom of speech has been defined to include the imparting of ideas, regardless of the medium used. So it is your protected freedom to draw nude women, or men, in public if you have the desire.
However, Eilerts now recognizes that maybe the nude figure wasn't the best thing to paint in public.
"We did not mean to do anything objectionable," Eilerts said last week, "and when I heard there were complaints I asked the person that painted the picture in question to go over and fix it up."
True, it's like all things in life. You can have freedoms and rights, and most of the time if you fight hard enough, those right will be enforced. That's particularly true in our nation, which was founded upon the idea that individual liberties are more precious than the will of the majority or the state.
Had Eilerts pushed the muralists' right to paint the nude, no doubt he would have had many supporters on the grounds that freedom of speech should not be suppressed.
As Voltaire said, "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it."
But Eilerts did not stand on principle -- and therein lies a lesson for us all.
Sometimes, the prerogative to self-edit is as important as the right to free expression. There are many things we have the right to do within our free society. The question then becomes whether we should do them.
Artwork of nude women, in public, in Tooele -- probably not the best idea. To their credit, the original artists recognized that and were willing to modify their memorial mural.
In a world where entrenched confrontation too often wins out over compromise, sometimes is it refreshing to see people willing to re-think their initial actions. Kudos to Eilerts and his friends for taking action to remember a friend. And public thanks for those willing to voluntarily compromise their right to freedom of expression for the greater public good.
Ann Herron is a journalist and former associate professor at Utah State University who lives in Tooele. She can be reached at annherron@comcast.net.