In regard to the lawsuit to prevent a Nazi group from marching in Skokie,
Illinois:
What I challenge (and not only because of that particular case) is the
interpretation of demonstrations and of other actions as so-called “symbolic
speech.” When you lose the distinction between action and speech, you lose,
eventually, the freedom of both. The Skokie case is a good illustration of
that principle. There is no such thing as “symbolic speech.” You do not have
the right to parade through the public streets or to obstruct public
thoroughfares. You have the right of assembly, yes, on your own property, and
on the property of your adherents or your friends. But nobody has the “right”
to clog the streets. The streets are only for passage. The hippies, in the
60s, should have been forbidden to lie down on city pavements. (They used to
lie down across a street and cause dreadful traffic snarls, in order to display
their views, to attract attention, to register a protest.) If they were
permitted to do it, the Nazis should be permitted as well. Properly, both
should have been forbidden. They may speak, yes. They may not take action at
whim on public property.