Freedom

One of the most important freedoms in our democratic republic is freedom of speech. All tyrannies restrict it. The use of laws, violence or disruption to block or suppress the free expression of opinion is fascist methodology. Freedom of speech is founded upon a trust that, in a free environment, truth rises to the top like cream. As one pundit recently said, “You say your idiotic thing and I say my idiotic thing. I believe in the public’s ability to sort it out.” This casts a wary light on laws restricting “hate speech”. Who determines what constitutes “hate speech”? Some opinions may be labeled “hateful”. But opinions are just opinions. In a free society they can be expressed. Many opinions are offensive to certain people who don’t hold those opinions. In a free society, we do not have the freedom to not be offended. And we do not have the freedom to force--using laws, violence or disruption--our opinions upon others—just to freely speak them in the open market of public opinion. It is a form of arrogance that asserts “you do not have the right to express your opinion” or “you must adhere to my beliefs” or “you do not have a right to express an opinion that is offensive to me or that is, in my opinion, blatantly wrong.” Currently, some long-held and deeply embedded religious beliefs are offensive to some people. [Perhaps it has always been so.] And so now, thrown into this mix, is a threat to freedom of religion also: the freedom to express and live according to those beliefs because of laws passed to insure the rights of others who are offended by those beliefs. Interestingly, most of this conflict is along the lines of sexuality [how it can be lived out] and gender [also associated with sexuality]. So it seems that sexual and gender freedoms [not explicitly granted in the Constitution] are militating against freedom of speech and religion [explicitly granted in the Constitution]. We must, in my opinion, process through these conflicts without resorting to fascist methodologies. We must remain civil and tolerant, not easily offended, non-reactive and non-defensive. We must not let hatred, fear or arrogance rule the day. Within the just and limited laws based upon our Constitution, we must allow people to speak their truth, and to be sexual and religious and gendered as they choose. But we must not force others to adhere to our ways of being. We cannot force others to believe what they do not believe, or to act in ways [outside the just and limited laws of state] contrary to their beliefs. And we must remember that our Founders recognized religion and morality as necessary pillars of our democracy, without which democracy would not survive. If we use the freedoms of democracy to destroy its pillars, we will destroy the political system that has granted us those freedoms. And tyranny is always lurking in the shadows.