50 WAYS TO FIGHT CENSORSHIP and Important...

50 WAYS TO FIGHT CENSORSHIP and Important Facts to Know About Censors by Dave Marsh (Thunder Mouth Press: $5.95, illustrated). A former editor at Creem and Rolling Stone, Dave Marsh has assembled a manual for community activists modeled on the “50 Things You Can Do to Save the Earth” series. He states his philosophy simply: “Cut off one person’s voice and you risk having your own larynx removed. No matter how vile you may find what the other guy has to say, there is always a better way to disarm the message than by silencing it.” Some of the suggested activities are easier than others, e.g. working with local libraries or writing letters (and the book includes useful lists of where to write to protest policies in government and industry). But not everyone has the skills to “make” art that fights censorship or to prepare community-access television programs. At a time when freedom of speech is being subjected to unprecedented assaults, “50 Ways” sounds a call to action to Americans who believe that the First Amendment should be taken at face value.