got to thinking...
Got assigned yet another ridiculous poem, one entitled "Liberty". I got to thinking about the topic itself, and even though i havn't come up with a poem yet-this is what i did come up with..
No government has the right to control the intimate thoughts or opinions of the people. If somebody wants to be a racist, let them be a racist. If somebody wants to be a homophobe, by all means, let them be a homophobe. By trying to control people's opinions and having no tolerance for dissent, all you do is encourage it. It is fine to have your own ideas, but what is not fine is being hostile and hidebound if your ideas and someone else's don't align. I don't ascribe to homophobia, misogyny, racial hatred, or any other of a number of prejudicies; but if I did, I sure as hell would want the right to say so. "Hate" speech today is pretty much anything that is not pro-minority, pro-women, pro-immigrant, or pro-homosexual. I'm not advocating overt irreverence or antipathy towards of any of the aformentioned "special interest" groups: it is important to present your thoughts in a respectful manner. I'm basically trying to say that even though I think everyone should have the opporotunity to uphold personal beliefs (whether they are politically correct or not), the right to swing your fist ends where the other person's nose begins. Granted, a lot of people who throw around words like "queer" "nigger" or "feminazi" are usually so ignorant that if you ask them to elaborate they, like you said, hide behind their first amendment rights. But what I'm trying to stress is that even though quite a few people (but not all) who are bigoted don't know what the hell they're talking about anyway, they still have the right to say it. And most of the time if you respond, they'll realize that they can't back up there opinion with much more than just emotion, and stop arguing. Alright, now I'm rambling, so I'll wrap it up. I think crazy orgnizations like the ACLU started off with the best of intentions, but once you take away one person's right to do something socially questionable, suddenly all rights are fair-game. Let a kid be a white spremacist, just don't let him go around shooting minorities.
No government has the right to control the intimate thoughts or opinions of the people. If somebody wants to be a racist, let them be a racist. If somebody wants to be a homophobe, by all means, let them be a homophobe. By trying to control people's opinions and having no tolerance for dissent, all you do is encourage it. It is fine to have your own ideas, but what is not fine is being hostile and hidebound if your ideas and someone else's don't align. I don't ascribe to homophobia, misogyny, racial hatred, or any other of a number of prejudicies; but if I did, I sure as hell would want the right to say so. "Hate" speech today is pretty much anything that is not pro-minority, pro-women, pro-immigrant, or pro-homosexual. I'm not advocating overt irreverence or antipathy towards of any of the aformentioned "special interest" groups: it is important to present your thoughts in a respectful manner. I'm basically trying to say that even though I think everyone should have the opporotunity to uphold personal beliefs (whether they are politically correct or not), the right to swing your fist ends where the other person's nose begins. Granted, a lot of people who throw around words like "queer" "nigger" or "feminazi" are usually so ignorant that if you ask them to elaborate they, like you said, hide behind their first amendment rights. But what I'm trying to stress is that even though quite a few people (but not all) who are bigoted don't know what the hell they're talking about anyway, they still have the right to say it. And most of the time if you respond, they'll realize that they can't back up there opinion with much more than just emotion, and stop arguing. Alright, now I'm rambling, so I'll wrap it up. I think crazy orgnizations like the ACLU started off with the best of intentions, but once you take away one person's right to do something socially questionable, suddenly all rights are fair-game. Let a kid be a white spremacist, just don't let him go around shooting minorities.