Protestantism

» paper_turtle - Free Speech

I'm saying that we need to be careful at censoring speech. When we redefine civil rights to mean that we can't or shouldn't be allowed to offend others, I think we get into shaky ground.
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Its true there are a lot of grey areas when it comes to trying to determine what might be offensive to another. And I will also grant that sometimes political correctness can lead to foolish excesses.
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Now, I'm talking SPEECH here - and not behavior. Calling someone the 'n' word and burning a cross in the yard are two different things, in my view.
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On the other hand, if we sincerely believe that civil rights includes "the pursuit of happiness," then I believe we need to take more responsibility for how we choose to express ourselves. Calling someone the "N word" infringes on his/her right to the pursuit of happiness.
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The thing is, we often tend to downplay the power that words have. We say something mean to someone and then taunt them with "Sticks and stones ..." or "Where's your sense of humor?" Well, names DO hurt people, and the damage they do *can* last an entire lifetime.
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And if we say that we have a right to freely express ourselves because to do otherwise impedes our ability to become all we can be, well, I have to wonder, just WHO do we want to become--AND why should our right to become whatever be more important than any one else's?
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If we clamor for the right to express hateful or hurtful thoughts, are we not claiming for ourselves the right to become hateful, hurtful people? And are we not also encouraging others to follow this poor example?
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I think sometimes we make such a god out of free speech that we forget each right implies specific responsibilities, and we need to be as concerned about the rights of others as we are our own.
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle