Freedom of speech includes the freedom to say things that make you look stupid. Freedom of speech includes the right to say things that offend others. Freedom of speech can be a painful thing to live with. Maybe that’s why we pay such lip service to the concept and are so ineffectual in actaully standing up for it when we hear things we don’t want to hear.
So we have a fundamental issue: freedom of speech for Jim, but not for Bob. Thus the state of health of the First Amendment: You can say anything you want so long as it is politically correct. That’s the definition of “tolerance†practiced by officials like Graham, Erhlich and by many among America’s official and elite opinion-makers.
So, if we really are serious about “tolerance,†let’s admit that the words that come out of our mouths are simply how we share the thoughts in our brains with each other. It’s called “communication†and it is the very heart of democracy. So to be a truly “tolerant†democracy, all of our communications must be politically correct.
Read the whole Examiner.com article entitled Freedom of speech and thought R.I.P. Freedom of speech. What a concept. It’s right there in our Constitution.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
You have a written guarantee that your government cannot restrict your religion or your right to speak or assemble peacefully.With those rights come responsibilities. You can be fired for saying unpopular things by a private employer. You can be censured by inviduals and groups for saying offensive things. You can have your life turned upside down by choosing the wrong phrase while the cameras are rolling.
Choose your words carefully and remember that your right to free speech doesn’t promise that you won’t be punched in the face for something you say. It just promises you that it the government isn’t allowed to interfere with your right to speak publicly or tell you who to pray who.
The problem with the above referenced article is that government is interfering in free speech, and they are not supposed to do that. That’s how I see it.