Look, I’m all for Freedom of Speech. I’m Pro-America, Pro-Christian, and I still believe that anyone with enough gumption can make a success of themselves but there are a few things I cannot abide. One thing I cannot possibly accept is someone trying to make others believe as they do. If everyone followed that suit, it would be a miserable and very dull world indeed. Another thing is certain sectors of society firmly thinking they are better than others, and as for trying to force extremism of any kind – you might as well forget trying to argue me into acceptance because I’ll break out the boxing gloves.
Freedom of Speech is defined as many things, and quite a few times the definitions are totally wrong. Freedom of Speech is the right of any American to communicate ideas and opinions as they see fit. The shooting at the Curtis Culwell Center, in Garland, Texas was said to be the result of Freedom of Speech in action. Wrong.
It was a contest for who could draw the best caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. That in and of itself is defined as Freedom of Expression which means one has the right to express and or impart information or ideas no matter the medium used. Now that we understand this, let’s move on.
Now I do not give a big rat’s ass what anyone thinks of me, because I know who I am. I’m honest and hardworking. I am an American Christian who believes in the Red, White, and Blue, and everything it stands for. I have the highest respect for the military and for those that have fought for freedom in years past, and those that work their rear-ends off doing the very same thing in the present. I have no wish to change and follow any other tenet.
However, this contest and exhibition was designed wholly just to pick a fight – simple as that. While I believe in each and every Constitutional Amendment and will do everything in my power to ensure those amendments remain in place, I do not, nor will I ever, agree with anyone going out of their way to incite violence and promote bigotry. There is a subtle, but huge difference in having the right to say what you think, and display what you will, and deliberately trampling on the rights of others while seeking self-promotion. There is also another thing called respect for others which seems to be sadly lacking these days, including respect of self.
Lumping each and every Muslim into one singular category simply isn’t right, nor is it fair. Approximately 30 Muslims were murdered on September 11, 2001. One, Abdul Salam Mallahi, helped evacuate people from the building he worked in. His body has never been recovered. Also among the victims were Jews, Christians, and possibly any other religion and belief one can think of. So why the pointing of fingers at 1.57 billion Muslims? It was a terrorist operation carried out on American soil against any unfortunate soul that just happened to be inside the target area. It took a long time, but we eventually got Bin Laden. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that only a fraction of these are the ones responsible for acts of terror.
Promoting hate by actions that contradict previous statements to the contrary, is hypocritical. In fact, my grandmother was oft to say, “Actions do speak louder than words.” The vitriolic rhetoric involved, could be classified under the Harm Principle, or the Offense Principle. A lot of people despise what Westboro says about deceased soldiers, and gays. Right? Well, that is just what I’m trying to make clear about Ms. Geller. What she espouses is harmful, and divides a society. We cannot make progress among ourselves as long as we allow misguided persons to promote Islamophobia in order to persecute innocent Muslims that have absolutely nothing to to with anything that smacks of Jihadism. I can’t even begin to list all the racial prejudices and stereotypical thinking that’s out there. So here are four examples that I’m sure most everyone knows about.
- Irish Catholics were persecuted. They were often called “White Negroes,” and depicted as human apes in newspaper cartoons in order to prove they were an inferior race. There are still pockets of Anti-Irish sentiment around.
- Japanese Americans during WWII were imprisoned in internment camps despite the fact that well over half of the 120,000 held against their will were United States Citizens. Anti-Japanese sentiments still continue to this day.
- Jews were rounded up, imprisoned and sent to death camps because of a insane belief they were subhuman. Antisemitism still is prevalent in many countries
- African Americans suffered through despicable treatment for generations and this too is still ongoing in many ways.
All of it is all so very wrong on so many levels. I had hoped, as a child of the sixties, that by the time I had reached adulthood, we would be living by a standard that was put to us in a most emphatic way –
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
~ Martin Luther King
And so it should have been long ago, but we have not yet reached that day. Perhaps when my sons are sitting with their children, and possibly their grandchildren, that day will have dawned. I can only hope.
Pigeonholes 