Question.....

Do we have freedom of speech today?

 

Between political correctness, the liberal/media machine and the administration's attempts to censor conservative voices... I do not believe we do anymore.

The way special interest groups target anyone against their agenda, I don't think so. It used to be that businesses had the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. They should still be able to. But now it is only so you can refuse service to white Christian men. Anything else and you are a bigoted, racist, woman hating, child killing homophobe.

I long for the days that you can say whatever you want. Yes, there are always consequences. You might get into an argument or fist fight, but you respect each other for speaking their minds and their beliefs. Now, if you are not a special interest group, you are a target for them and the media. And unfortunately, also for the current administration it seems.

Sorry... I said what I thought and felt and exercised my freedom of speech.

 

These days, I believe censorship has taken a new form. To be clear, when I said freedom of speech, any hateful and/or divisive rhetoric never really came to mind....more just speaking what one believes to be true.

As you type words to be sent out into the world of zeros and ones, or talking one the phone with a friend, how many have paused, even for a moment, wondering whether your thought should even be typed or spoken? Self-censorship.

In today's world of eavesdropping, hacking, monitoring, corrupt people and governments, et al, it has definitely taken on a new meaning. Long gone are the days of fist-fighting to settle a difference. Fears of reprocussion have changed, and have now more potential far reaching, and dire, consequences.

Unfortunately, the freedoms we once had are now a vision.... fading in the rear view mirror. Or so it seems to me.

 

I prefer to think that we now have a more edited version of freedom of speech; Our government and the Democratic Social Commission must monitor our speech to insure that we don't offend anyone or say anything that might make the masses doubt to published agenda. After all, this is the new world order and we certainly wouldn't want to cause an dissention....

 

Yes, we have freedom of speech. How you choose to speak is your choice but many may not agree with you. It is a struggle that is going on. Sometimes I think Mr. Orwell was a prophet-

The playbook for the liberal party?

Words can hurt and some even allow words to cripple them emotionally. A crippled person is a weak person who can be easily controlled. When people are focused on being obsessed and offended over a word, they seem to be ignoring what is truly going on around them. Many words are labels. I really do not care for many of the labels that have been attached to me but people are free to call me those labels if they choose and I allow them to because I have embraced freedom of speech. I will admit that many times I have trouble with some things that are labeled as freedom of speech but I have to remind myself that it is their right. It is their right but I hate it.

 

The problem is that it has become a selective right. Special interest can say whatever they want, do whatever they want. Anybody else is gonna get it. That is wrong. NO ONE is above the law, despite what some may feel.

 

The problem as I see it is not limited to the "law" as more and more of the control of our society has shifted to rules, executive orders, the FCC or BATF or some other agency changing what is an acceptable action and the "peer" pressure used to control the educational and other systems. We basically are allowed some forms of speech, but not what I would call free speech in the classical sense. Somehow my rights have to be limited to preserve their rights, but my rights are no longer considered rights but were reclassified as privileges and thus under attack or are now considered "hate" speech. I don't remember that term ever being used when I was a child and having a "comfort" zone didn't exist as the town kids and the country kids fought as a matter of custom, but carefully limited the damages.

 

What has become selective? Words? What is offensive? Your post is confusing me. Special interest cannot say what ever they want. The NRA is held to different standards then Moveon. org

 

nigger

if the above is not censored or asterisked out, we might still have a little free speech left.

Edit: Obviously some level of free speech is respected in SM...my hat is off to the admins and moderators! Now whether I can say the same word out loud here at work and keep my job remains to been seen....and I don't think I am ready to test it just yet.

 

Agree to disagree.

What has become selective is WHO can say stuff. And WHAT you can and cannot say. For example, utter anything "disagreeable" about Islam and you get nailed. We go out of our (govment and special interest groups) way to appease Muslims. They are "allowed" to have whatever they want in schools, prison, etc. And I have nothing against them, except the radical side and the ones that intend us harm. Yet anything Christian is banned. We cannot pray in school. And I have nothing against them, except the radical side and the ones that intend us harm.

We have separation of church and state. But not separation of mosque and state. I dunno. Maybe it's just me. But that's not right.

Also, anything with traditional family values is bashed. While gay and trans whatever things are trying to be made mainstream. Nuts. I do not have anything against gays and whatever the heck else is out there except the radical side and those that intend us harm (like a gay person going into a known Christian bakery and asking for stuff for their gay marriage just to raise trouble. And the media that propagates it.)

I have girls and I do NOT want men dressed as women going into a women's bathroom with my girls. I have a real problem with that. If you are a guy and you want to go into a woman's bathroom, cut your dick and balls off first! Bruce Jenner is not a woman. He is a man wearing women's clothes. If you are of formerly were a man and you want to compete against women in athletics, that is wrong because physically, you are not the same. Just do like what the eastern bloc athletes did before and load up on steroids, then take your chances on getting caught. That was a little more "honest" at least. They were still women, albeit man sized ones.

So again, nothing against people and things I do not agree with. Just don't force those things on anyone else's space and sensibilities either. Then we will be good.

Our administration and special interest groups are pretty much saying whatever they want and getting away with it because it fits the current political agenda and is supported by our very biased mainstream media. For example, in general, a white cop shoots a black man who was breaking the law. What do you hear from the president on down to the local news reporter? White cop is racist and was a bad cop. Then, the cop's career is trashed and the bad guy is invited to the "white" house. And the words they use are almost verbatim from day one. Scripted? You tell me. Again, I do not have anything against anyone of any color. I would fit that description too. The way I see it, we are all pretty pink on the inside. And that is what should matter. The big problem is that the consequences for actions are all screwed up.

Another example is that everyone wants to be equal. Fair is not always equal. We should be as equal as we have earned for ourselves. Taking someone's hard earned wealth so that a poor lazy slob can have an equal amount of wealth is not fair. It is also not right. That is often what people think of in terms of equality. Being equal means having the same rights. It also means we follow the same laws and they are enforced the same way regardless of who or what you are. Another example, I have no problem with gay people getting married legally. I have a problem with them requiring a religious institution to agree with them. Or requiring a business that does not have the same beliefs cater to them. Forcing beliefs on people so that everyone believes it is not equality. It isn't even moral. But some believe that making all beliefs mainstream is equality.

We have special interest groups that want no segregation. Yet, their rhetoric pushes for segregation. I mean, come on. You cannot have it both ways. That would be awfully confusing for everyone.

And yes, I agree. Everyone should grow a thicker skin. You don't have to agree with everyone. And everyone doesn't have to agree with you. Me personally, I like diversity. When we are diverse, we can maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses overall. If we are all the same, we have the same strengths and weaknesses. That is not robust. Having everyone cowing and bowing to the god of political correctness is not only not robust, it is not healthy. It has already led our country down a dangerous path. I only hope it is not too late to turn back before we totally lose our way.

Sorry for my long rant.

 

Freedom of speech is just like any other right you have: you can say what ever you want just like you can do what ever you want. There are laws against it but there are also laws against pretty much everything you do from the time you wake up, to what you feed your children, to what you watch on TV, to the consistency of your droppings. They regulate every inch of our lives but for all the laws against murder, they still seem to happen.

...maybe we need more laws. Thatll do it.

 

Just need to enforce our laws.

 

I don't even know what you are agreeing to disagree with. You are arguing the whole 1st amendment and every ill in this society. I was talking Freedom of Speech and asked for clarification of your post. You are covering more then free speech in your rebuttal. While I agree with much of what you ranted, much of it doesn't have to do with free speech or are you saying because some words have become censored that that has led to the disintegration of values in our society? .

 

I do.

 

The worlds longest sentence.....