I've been thinking a lot recently about the freedom of speech. I've been thinking about how that phrase has been used as a shield, ostensibly making it permissible to say any number of ridiculous, abhorrent, sometimes frightening things in the public forum. I'm a huge proponent of free speech. In fact it is (obviously) one of my favorite things. Right up there next to bright copper kettles.
But I have to say, from Miss California crying over her relatives giving their lives so she may spout bigotry and ignorance from a stage in her underpants, to the fascinating revelations (below) highlighting Fox News', if not complicity, than certainly cheerleading heading up to the murder of Dr. George Tiller, people are, at least figuratively, getting away with murder.
It seems to me that there's a common thread here. They're certainly right that we are all free in this country to say anything we like - any damn fool thing that pops into our minds we have the right to say. However, they seem to be laboring under the misconception that they need take no responsibility for it. I'm not so sure about that.
I can understand Miss California. She perhaps came to believe she was the only one with the right to free speech (beauty competitions will do things like that to you), and it came as a good galloping shock to learn that other people could say what they wanted too. And they said it about her! And it wasn't about her hair! And it wasn't nice! At the very least she was not malicious, and she in fact was speaking her mind...such as it is.
I'm not so sure we can give our dear old friends at Fox News the same pass. Not again. Not this time. Because really, I think the clips below make the case pretty damn strongly.
There are consequences to preaching hate and preaching violence. Sometimes those consequences are you don't make it past the talent competition. Sometimes the consequence is someone is shot to death on a warm spring morning in church. They say with great power comes great responsibility. I think the word power can often be used interchangeably with the word freedom.
I would just free speech this: In saying any damn fool thing you want, hard as it is to believe, there are people out there listening to what you say. Some people will even do what you say. And despite what you may think about the constitution giving you a fully blameless free-pass, the rest of us will, in fact, hold you accountable for what you say. And someday soon everyone is going get tired of your hate and your fear and incendiary free speech and they're just going listen to someone else.
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