University of Illinois Press

Short Stack, The Washington Post‘s book blog, features an opinion piece by Randall Bezanson, author of the new book Art and Freedom of Speech.

“If a National Endowment for the Arts panel decides, based on artistic merit, to provide NEA funding for Robert Mapplethorpe’s homoerotic art, what can the government do about it?

The head of the NEA, following a law passed by Congress, would surely deny the funding because the art is dangerous — indecent and inconsistent with traditional American values. He would be wrong.

To the question ‘What can government do about dangerous art?’ my answer is, ‘Nothing.’”