Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Cost of Free Speech

So Rush Limbaugh and Kirk Cameron got you down?  Really?  Those two???

It is bad enough a women's right to choose and family planning are still active in today's political landscape.  But to have the opinions of talking heads and former child actors upset us and/or matter at all is the real tragedy here.

Mr Limbaugh has been a bombastic, headline-making, cage rattler for years.  It is his schtick if you will.  Over the course of 3 or 4 hours things will come out of his head that, we can be certain, even he doesn't fully believe in.  It is the same with Howard Stern, or Sean Hannity, or Don Imus.  They are entertainers.  They are paid to juggle, and to dance or make us think, or laugh.

None of them is perfect.  None, the moral barometer in which we lead our lives.  Otherwise we would be all racist, pill-popping, lesbian admirers.

So, when they say something that outrages us or offends our response should be a little more tempered.  Mainly, because the moment we stop letting them speak their minds the real bad guys end up winning.  You know, the ones who want to muzzle the agitators.  The ones who think America has too many liberties.  They think free speech only pertains to their own.  Sharing opinions and thoughts is a dangerous thing.  It is something that leads to political uprising and dissidents.

Wrong.  Let the blowhards say what they will.  Advertisers will decide what speaks to the majority.  If Limbaugh is on the air, as Imus is after his racist rant a few years back, we will know there are many of us who think he's pretty cool.   It is further evidence opinions of one human have the power to both resonate with millions while simultaneously being ignored.

We can vote to change laws.  We can vote to change leaders.  We as a whole have a voice louder than one individual.

And will Kirk Cameron ever be anything but Mike Seaver?  If we are gonna listen to any former member of Growing Pains wouldn't it be Leo DiCaprio?  I mean he's the guy who dates Supermodels, makes Scorsese films and saves rain forests.  Who found Cameron anyway?  And does Alan Thicke have any control over his TV kids??  What say he???  Oh, he say this: Thicke v Cameron Wasn't he a pretend psychiatrist?  Too bad Boner isn't here to give his two cents.

Public debate can only benefit from the circus that is contemporary.  Bias will never go away.  Ideological and religious differences will never go away.  Everyone will have his/her mouthpiece if they are not their own.

We all need embrace and accept each others beliefs as absurd as they might be.  It is what defines us as Americans.  We should never take it for granted.

Understand that free speech comes with a hefty price.   There will be moments that, gasp, you will be offended.  If it starts affecting how you go about your daily life let me suggest taking a deep breath.  It's gonna be ok.   Sticks and stones folks.  Smile and shake it off.

After all your opinion can be heard too.  And most people aren't gonna like what you say either.

Just ask the millions of this pages non-readers.

Words... literally


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