COMMENTARY | Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has taken over the lead in the race, but he has also created a stir over the lack of clapping in the debate on Monday. The moderator, Brian Williams, silenced the crowd leading to accusations from Gingrich that Williams was trying to eliminate free speech from the audience because it wasn’t going to be in line with the media’s views and agenda. Gingrich has taken it so far as to warn that if the audience is going to be banned from clapping, he will not attend the debate.
All of these recent developments lead me to ask, should clapping be allowed? Is this just drama to take the focus off of the campaign and the real issues? Is it a violation of free speech?
Does Clapping Violate Free Speech?
Every person at the end of the debate can speak freely about their opinions. I do not believe that it is a violation of free speech. With that said, we have to look at the social norms. Clapping is allowed in most speeches. The State of the Union Address has a pause for clapping every few minutes. Do we need to show our support through clapping? Of course not! Free speech comes in when the voter goes to the polls and casts his or her vote. And to be completely honest, clapping during the debates is distracting and annoying. There needs to be more time and focus on what the candidates are saying.
Is Newt Drawing Attention Away from Political Issues
With all the drama that candidates come up with, sometimes it seems as though they would rather skip controversial political issues and bring up useless points, like taking clapping out of the debates. Newt Gingrich is running a tight race with Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination and it appears to me that he is trying to rally supporters through emotion instead.
Should Clapping be Allowed
I believe that it should be entirely up to the moderators. Maybe Brian Williams found it completely distracting. It’s important that the moderators focus on each candidate and ask the right questions. One of these candidates could potentially be our next president, so taking clapping out would only make the debate that more serious and professional. I don’t need to hear claps from other people to form an opinion on who I will vote for, or how I stand on issues. In addition, I don’t believe the candidates need applause so they know what is striking a chord with Americans. I would rather they campaign blindly so that we know their real motivation. When they’re in office, the winning candidate usually addresses their own agenda’s anyway. Americans need to know what those are. Eliminating clapping allows more time for serious debate and helps us get more genuine answers.