FREE SPEECH

-by Mags

I am not as special as the likes of Sean Hannity who recently opined that it would be worth fighting for and dying to keep Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker of the House. Nor am I allowed to speak of killing a candidate whose politics are not sufficiently right wing enough for me as did Ann Coulter recently. It would not be wise for me to call for the killing of a foreign leader the way that Pat Robertson feels completely comfortable doing. And, if I spoke about blowing up the top of any building, much less the top floors of the UN as did Bolton, it would be a terrible mistake on my part.

I have been taught since I was a child not to speak ill of office holders in such a way as could be interpreted as a threat. It was drummed into me early in life that jokes about assassination, saying you will kill someone, or attempting humor by using the word bomb was a bad idea. There are laws against such things. People in high places hire people with guns to visit you if you are silly enough to think you are being clever by doing any of the above. I taught my kids the same thing. There are jokes and then there are things that are truly funny. Making violent statements are neither.

I was also taught that one is not at liberty to yell fire in a crowded theater, that freedom of speech was not license. I get that. There is a certain responsibility that goes with opening one’s mouth, if one has a proper upbringing.

But, here and now I want to make something clear. There is a reason why those of us on the left are very careful with our words, and that is because we know that we will be visited with consequences if we misspeak, if we foment actions which might challenge this administration, let alone if we foment a rebellious act of any sort. No matter how important the topic, no matter what is at stake, we know we must speak carefully. We must choose our words with utmost care.

Not so with O’Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter, Robertson. They are free to call for the death of anyone and any institution they do not like. Such freedoms do they enjoy that they can spew hatred and murderous intent on a daily basis. Here is the part that you may not have thought about; everyone accepts that it is okay for them. We KNOW they will not be harassed by authorities. And, we know equally well that if Howard Dean or Keith Olbermann said anything remotely as threatening, there would be a knock on their door. Ask any number of journalists whose careers have been destroyed for much less.

Hannity’s remarks are wrong on another level. He is saying that America is no longer a system of laws. He is saying beneath it all that his will and the will of the right wing is more important than our constitution and more important than our political process. In his obvious frustration, he is inciting violent acts against.....who?  Those of us on the left, is my presumption. Who else besides those who would vote Democrat? I know this is being written about everywhere, but I just had to put in my 2 cents.

Our constitution is being shredded daily by Bush and his cronies. They are robbing the national treasury blind, and they are mortgaging off our country to foreign interests. They have invested in our financial failure and they continue to stir hatred the world over for America and Americans. They wire tap our phones, and now they are calling for bids on a contract to monitor the American media... not foreigners, but the American media.

Those who support this band of thieves enjoy not only freedom of speech, but they enjoy a position above the law in promoting violence and hatred. We know no one is going to knock on their door. On the other hand, if I called for anything similar in regard to the upcoming elections, and I am not saying I would, we all know I would be wise to expect an investigation. I would be seen as dangerous.

How is it that national figures on the right have no boundaries? How is it that not only do we have freedom of speech, but even when we are supporting causes that our forefathers paid dearly for and for which they fought and paid for with their lives, we must choose our words very carefully? We must be as innocuous as possible. We will not likely get the chance to say we were only joking. Seriously, does anyone believe otherwise?

If you are done reading that lone nugget that I linked just above, consider how much more care you will have to take choosing your words in the future.

It looks like the Pentagon is taking bids on Sean’s war against the rest of us.