| 4/17/2006 |
FREEDOM
|
I'm in a thinky mood so brace yourself for a few (possibly) deep posts.
Ok... first on the agenda is Rev. Phelps and his anti-gay church. Which, I suppose, just referring to it as an "anti-gay church" isn't all that specifically descriptive. But this entry isn't about religion per se. It's about free speech.
There is an article on MSNBC about Phelps and his Protest Posse. Their picketing has brought up a debate of constitutional free speech versus his hate-filled protesting. Part of his rationale for demonstrating at funerals is the claim that gays are taking over the country. And if so... why didn't anyone tell me? Loop? I don't see no loop?
But seriously... To claim that such events like 9/11, Katrina, US deaths in Iraq, or even the deaths of West Virginia miners is God's punishment because America tolerates gays seems so ludicrous, that it becomes hard for me to even fathom anyone even believing it.
The debate has been molting into a free speech issue. Introduce a law to prohibit certains kinds of protests or allow Phelps and others like him to spew hate-filled messages where ever they please.
Now I'm all for free speech. It's what gives me the right to write a blog. While it can be a slippery slope of an issue when you try to reach it's summit, I think that it is with good reason. Once such restrictions start, where will they end? Who would be in charge of deciding and regulating such laws?
Yet a part of me feels like rooting for free speech is like supporting Pehlps by proxy. So I'm torn.
I mentioned my conflicted thoughts to Mike, who has been in many ways my moral compass. Even if we don't agree on something, I find it a lot easy to find my own bearings if I know which way North is.
His response was relieving, in a way, "...let idiots talk. Their idocy becomes more and more apparent with every word they say."
And I believe that is true. I certainly hope it is anyway. So perhaps my bigger concern shows itself as what if someone else will believe what he is saying. How long do you have to hear about the Kool-aid before the Kool-aid starts sounding mighty tasty?
It concerns me.
So far states have regulated that protest may not be done within certain areas around a funeral. The laws that have been created have been very delicate when it comes to free speech. Understandably so... While it doesn't stop their protest, it hopefully gives mourners 'room to breathe'. |
|
I posted this @ 4/17/2006 09:04:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
|
|
|
|
|
|
