Solidarity: Let Freedom Reign

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

On February 4, 2006, I joined with a host of other bloggers in solidarity with Danish journalists and artists by reposting one of the cartoons of blasphemy:

I once again choose to stand up for freedom of speech and thought, and add to that cartoon this one cheerfully stolen from Michelle Malkin:

Freedom of speech is under attack as never before. Be it through murder and mayhem and threats of same, attempts to stifle discourse by declaring anything that does not agree with a set response as hate speech, or -- most insidious of them all -- self-censorship for fear of the mere possibility of offending someone resulting in penalties of any sort, the end results are the same as freedom is lost.

I swore oaths long ago to protect and defend this and other freedoms. Today, I do so via words, audio, video, photography, and art on this and other blogs and outlets. Today, I reiterate my stand and repost some of that which has earned a death sentence against those who create or publish. I reaffirm my oath and my commitment.

Freedom of speech is just one part of it, however. One reason we in this Republic have that freedom is a concept called the marketplace of ideas. As citizens, we have that right and the right to express our opinions. We have the responsibility to debate ideas and concepts on merits and facts, not on pure emotionalism. As has been noted here before, freedom of speech does not mean freedom from criticism, constructive or otherwise, contempt, or even side-splitting laughter. It does not mean freedom from consequences. It simply means you have the right to express yourself, not that everyone must agree with you.

I continually get a good laugh from trolls and others who state that any alteration or deletion, much less banning, shows an unwillingness to tolerate dissent and a lack of commitment to free speech. Bull. Your ability to say what you want is still there, for you can (and should) start a blog of your own and see how it fares in the marketplace of ideas. Good ideas will get lots of recurring readers, discussion, links, and dialog. Bad ideas tend to get the ratings they deserve. There is no requirement (yet) that any newspaper, broadcast station, blog, or other has to pay to host your ideas or random spewings -- unless it is your own.

Since few if any newspapers in the U.S. (much less broadcast outlets) see fit to stand up for and with those who are literally putting their lives and the lives of their families on the firing line for true freedom of speech, I will step forward. To all those who are true enemies of freedom, no matter what country, religion, or party I have but one thing to say: Bite Me.

LW

Also posted at Laughing Wolf

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» My Hat's Off to Denmark from snapped shot
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Comments

[Lands’nGrooves]

Sammenhold!

[Mark Ducharme]

"There is no requirement (yet) that any newspaper, broadcast station, blog, or other has to pay to host your ideas or random spewings"

No, but to work in most any newspaper, broadcast station, other mass media outlet or institute of "education", one must tow the commie line or suffer the consequences.

Offensive images of Christ or Christ like figures (see: U.S. military personel) is not only NOT shunned, but rather encouraged and, what you just did is being prosecuted as a crime in many "free" nations.

It's like the lambs being led to slaughter demanding that those unruly, disrespectful lambs stop protesting so as not to offend the guy with the mallet.

[Caleb]

It is truely a shame that our education in this country has gone downhill to the point that few folks understand about our constitutional rights and guarantees. In point of fact, the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment only assures us that the governmental entities will not stifle the citizen's freedom to speak out as he pleases. There is no guarantee that your employer will not censor your right to express you opinions while on the job or otherwise in a position to represent the company. There is no guarantee that, if you express unappreciated opinions in your church or social association, that they will not ask you to either shut up or leave.

The Constitution of the United States ONLY deals with our relations with our government. For the most part, the Constitution, as a founding document, places restrictions on the government and insulates the citizen from official governmental retribution. Some of the later amendments have expanded a bit on that, but the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) act to circumscribe what the GOVERNMENT can do to the citizen, NOT what one private citizen can do to another private citizen. Of course if a private entity takes money from the federal government in the form of grants, loans, contracts, etc., that opens up said private entity to strings, in the form of mandates to abide by certain rules and regulations, or suffer loss of the federal money.

Now go to your favorite Constitutional attorney, or the ACLU, or Harvard Law, or wherever and they can parse the fine print for you, so that you can get around or cheat on every thing I have just written.