18 December 2007

Wait, which group represses free speech again?

After President Bush was elected, I heard cries that the government would stifle free speech and we'd all live under a totalitarian regime where dissenting thought was not allowed.

Yes, this has happened, but strangely, it hasn't come from conservatives.

Mark Steyn, author of the book America Alone, in which he details his theory on how Islamic extremism is overwhelming Western nations, is being charged under hate-speech laws in Canadian court.

And in our own country, those who believe global warming is not entirely the fault of humanity are being compared to Nazis.

"When we've finally gotten serious about global warming, when the impacts are really hitting us and we're in a full worldwide scramble to minimize the damage, we should have war crimes trials for these bastards - some sort of climate Nuremberg." -David Roberts, Gristmill, Grist Magazine, September 19, 2006

Good grief. Why is intelligent discussion such an evil thing? What is it about these topics that bring out the fascist in certain individuals?

There are plenty of viewpoints I disagree with. There are plenty of viewpoints I think are stupid and completely wrong. But I'll never work to ensure that they cannot be voiced.

The way to deal with incorrect views is through fair and honest debate.

One day, maybe we'll figure that out.

Meanwhile, liberal speech condemning President Bush's policies is freely broadcast without penalty, as it should be. Movies portraying American actions in negative light are coming from Hollywood one right after the other.

Is anyone demanding they be censored? Not that I've heard.

In other "where has all the common sense gone?" news, a ten-year-old student in Florida faces felony charges after bringing a small steak knife to school, which she used to cut her food.

"She did not use it inappropriately. She did not threaten anyone with it. She didn't pull it out and brandish it. Nothing of that nature," explained Marion County School Spokesman Kevin Christian.

I understand the concern administrators have about preventing violence in their schools. I'm all for taking measures to avoid another Columbine, but sometimes their zeal goes too far.

Hopefully these charges get dropped as the prosecutor realizes how stupid this whole situation is.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

EVERY TIME ONE TURNS AROUND THESE DAYS SOME MORONIC IDIOT IS USING THE "POLITICALLY CORRECT" AGENDA TO GET THEIR WAY AND THE COWARDS THAT BE DON'T HAVE THE COMMON SENSE TO SAY "STOP IT!" WE HAVE MANAGED TO CREATE AT LEAST TWO GENERATIONS THROUGH THIS "POLITICALLY CORRECTNESS" THAT HAS IN TURN CREATED COWARDS TOO SCARED TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS, TOO SCARED TO HAVE AN OPINION, TOO SCARED TO BE A REAL MAN AND OR WOMAN. BETWEEN THIS POLITICALLY CORRECTNESS AND THE ACLU OUR COUNTRY HAS SUFERED SICH GREAT HARM THAT I DO NOT SEE IT RECOVERING ANY TIME SOON. SO THE NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A "POLITICALLY CORRECT" SPOT JUST TELL THOSE WHO BACK THIS SORT OF THING TO :GO TO HELL."