Free Speech – a threatened commodity….

“Free speech”, such a simple two word phrase.. What is it? Do we really have it? Can we keep it?

Does free speech mean anything exactly? The ability to offend anyone we please, any time we please? The opportunity to spread religious dogma to any and all that will listen? Do we have the ability to force others to listen despite their wishes? Do we have the “right” to do that? What is a “right”?

Let’s look at the last, first.

A “right” is something we feel entitled to (like the FSA – they have a perceived “right” to their free shit). We have a right to this or that, be it a land title, a copyright, a car we “own” or something called “free speech”. We own these things because a whole lot of men, women and children have died in the defense of or earning and keeping that “right”. A lot of the women and children were peripheral casualties thereof but the cost to them was the same as for the men and women who fought the wars and died in battle.

There is an old saw that says, “Freedom is not free” and that includes free speech. It must be defended or earned as the case may be and it is also very easily lost if taken for granted. (for those interested in trivia, it was coined by Colonel Walter Hitchcock (USAF Retired)).

Unfortunately, here in the “Land of the Free”, our Federal Government is dallying with the idea of limiting free speech in the interest of something called “International respect of religion” whatever in hell that means. How is it so dallying?

The idiot who made the recent bad (from quality and taste) video “Innocence of Muslims”, posted it on YouTube is a good example of Federal knee jerk in the direction of not-so-free-speech. They made the attempt to get Google to remove it from YouTube.. Epic Fail. This led to riots in Egypt and Pakistan and the eventual death of a US Ambassador and three other Americans in our Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Did we, as a country, react any better this time to the murder of our citizens and destruction of internationally recognized American territory than Peanut Jimmy did in Iran so many years ago? No, we did not and more significant American “face” not to mention international legal “rights” were trashed. The incident has since been blamed on, of course, Al Quida who is a convient whipping boy for any attack anywhere these days, whether they did it or not.

[As an aside, Al Quida is now defunct as an organization except in NE Pakistan. Al Quida is an idea and a vicious cause, connecting many small, totally independent groups, acting mostly on their own, under one fearful name. At least our Federal Government wants Al Quida to be fearful as they are the “enemy” now in our perpetual war against “terror”. I personally call BULLSHIT on the whole idea of a war on terror. Instead, we should be laughing at their pitiful efforts because since 9/11/2001, they have not accomplished diddly here in this country and are only as effective as an occasional snake bite elsewhere. Almost every arrest for “terrorism” made in this country sind 9/11 has been made by a “sting” operation of the Feds planting agents among fools and facilitating some “act of terror” which is a sorry anti-real terrorism tactic. I’d be in more danger walking about naked in a severe Florida thunderstorm with a lightning rod raised above my head and a ground wire trailing from my poor old ass than I am from “Al Quida” !]

The real terrorist here is Islam. Echos of history abound as the Crusades and Inquisition come to mind – which were terroristic as any Al Quida operation, just operating with lesser tools and scope. Same old Shit… My religion is the only true religion and if you don’t believe in it and do as I say, I’ll kill you to make sure you do.

Idiocy.

Islam is a religion of poverty, ignorance, savagery, subjugation of women and death itself. There is no life itself here on Earth for it is all in paradise, promised to those who serve Islam and die doing it. Such crap.

Islam’s goal is world dominance of their religion and behavior, including their blasphemy and Sharia laws. Islams’ behavior does not include free speech and our current kiss-ass Federal Government is leaning ever more so backwards to accommodate this view by sniffing about the possibility of censoring publication of anything calculated (by them) to offend any religion, organization or peoples anywhere on the face of the globe. This is a very bad idea and worse policy on the part of the U.S. Federal Government.

They should, of course, be doing the exact opposite. Instead of sending a high ranking military group to attempt to silence the Florida backwoods preacher who wanted to burn the Koran (I’d have lit the match), they should toss a few extras on the fire and say in no uncertain terms the following:

“Free speech is the bed rock of our country, our way of life and our prosperity. The free and unfettered exchange of ideas and opinions has resulted in what became the most prosperous and power Nation the world has ever known. It could not have happened without free speech.”

That’s why is Free Speech is protected as the very first item in the Bill of Rights. Why was it first? I suspect because our founding fathers found that without the ability to freely communicate, everything from productive ideas and gossip to insults and ridicule, none of the other nine items were worth the parchment they were written on. That’s the way I feel too, in spades.

So the next time you hear Hillary Clinton try and pacify the United Nations or anyone else by blathering about “offensive language against religions everywhere” do us all a favor and write her a letter (with a cc: to Obummer) and tell her to stuff her attempts to limit our Free Speech up her not so tiny little butt. Anyone, anytime, at any level of Government from local thru State to Federal that tries to muzzle or limit free speech needs to be slapped down very quickly and very thoroughly and my multitudes of freedom loving Americans.

Free speech is America and America is the best “keeper of the light” as far as free speech and we should not risk losing even a shaving from it..

MA

Author: MuckAbout

Retired Engineer and Scientist (electronic, optics, mechanical) lives in a pleasant retirement community in Central Florida. He is interested in almost everything and comments on most of it. A pragmatic libertarian at heart he welcomes comments on all that he writes. View all posts by MuckAbout