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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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A NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF FREE SPEECH I have always said that the Republican Party was good for my checkbook, but bad for my career. This conundrum is founded solely in the simplistic reality that as a small business owner who makes a 6 figure salary, I can count on the Republicans to always do their best to keep my personal and professional taxes as low as possible, thus putting more money in my pocket. Unfortunately, I happen to make that money by exercising my right to free speech daily and no one has been a bigger threat to the first amendment in the past decade than the conservative movement of the United States, thus my quandary. If I support and allow a country politically run by democrats, I will have to give more than 55% of my income to the government which will waste it and redistribute it to people who haven't earned it. On the other hand, if I support and allow a country politically run by republicans, I will have to say 55% less of the things I am currently allowed to say, if I'm even allowed to continue to broadcast. What a world. Now the quandary has grown as the Democratic Party has shown its true colors and revealed itself as no friend of the freedom of speech. Despite what the Constitution makes very clear, once again we have been reminded that in America circa 2006, the right to free speech stops when someone, anyone, disagrees with what is being said. I must pause so that we can all catch up and land on the same page. To wit, I offer you the following evidence as to the current state of affairs: Point #1... The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees us the right to free speech and a free press. This was done so that no dictator or single government agency could ever suppress our ability as citizens to speak out against policies and people we disagreed with and perhaps believed were harming our nation. It also by existence, definition and default meant that none of has the right to be offended. It was THE most important amendment as far as the Founding Fathers were concerned, and that was why they put it first. " Point #2... As the Republican Party has grown in power and stature over the past 10 years they have made our freedom of speech a prime target. Hiding behind the fruitless argument that they are "just protecting the children," conservatives have found ways to limit speech on TV, on the radio, in print, in movies and in public by attacking anything that offends their far-right whacko Christian sensibilities, most notably anything and everything that involves sex, blasphemy, nudity, or "blue" content. The ostrich mentality has never been more prevalent then now with the idea that if we simply don't talk about or recognize controversial, or non-puritanical topics they'll simply go away." Point #3... Perhaps most disturbing is that the Republicans' fear tactics are working as usual. As long as you make people believe that they are in danger of some kind (your children will grow up to be perverts) and combine it with a lack of personal responsibility (it's the TV's fault) you'll win such an argument in today's America. In a poll taken last year the American Public, the very people who derive their power from the First Amendment, thought that the "Freedom of Speech Amendment" wasn't restrictive enough. These are the dangers of an arrogant, ignorant society."
For years I have been able to comfort myself, even during the tumultuous "Janet Jackson" years by reminding myself that the cyclical nature of our political system would save the day. In other words, the Democrats will, by default, regain some of the Federal power soon and will therefore be able to restrict or stop the attacks on the First Amendment. It was true in the opposite direction with gun control; 10 years ago it really looked like the Democratic Party was going to succeed in all but eliminating the second amendment, but the Republicans gained enough power to put down the threat. Examples like this are countless throughout our history, so I have never really panicked about the Freedom of Speech issue… until now. This past weekend, ABC broadcast a mini-series called "The Path to 9/11." It is what we call in the business a "docu-drama," meaning that it is a dramatization of real events. Not a true story, per se, but rather a story based on true events, but littered with exaggeration, innuendo and maybe even some commentary, much like the classic TV show, M*A*S*H (based on the actual Korean War, but not on actual day-to events and conversations). "The Path to 9/11" spends a great deal of time exploring the 1990's and the growth of Al Qaeda and Usama Bin Laden, and America's failures to catch, kill or stop them and him. It is a well documented fact and agreed upon truth by the bi-partisan 9/11 commission itself that we failed as a nation to see 9/11 coming and stop it. Many, many people are to blame for this, including our arrogant ignorant society. However, the cost of being "the man," sometimes means acknowledging that the buck stops with you. When baseball teams of crappy players lose, the manager gets fired. When companies with crappy employees fail, the CEO is dismissed. And when the United States of America allows a terror threat to our borders to grow and fester through a series of missed opportunities and failed foreign policies, the President of the United States is blamed. President Bill Clinton did not cause 9/11 nor did he create the problems that led to 9/11. He did however, do very little and certainly not enough to stop it, this is irrefutable. It is also one of the central themes to "The Path to 9/11." The Democratic Party is angry and outraged at the content of the movie. Fair enough, they are welcome to their opinion. They are even welcome to exercise their right to free speech and tell anyone who will listen that they believe the movie is unfair and untrue. This is what makes America great. The thing they do not have the right to do is exactly what they did last week. The leaders of the Democratic Party first demanded that ABC not air the mini series. This alone should send chills down your spine as it is true Stalinism at its finest core. When government officials begin censoring free media we have entered a dangerous new world. When ABC refused to capitulate, the Democratic Party went a step further and threatened ABC, saying, in a not-so-veiled-way, that the network's license to broadcast would be placed in jeopardy by the airing of the 9/11 movie.
Freedom of speech does not stop when the person hearing you disagrees with or doesn't like what is being said. We have done our best to slowly chip away at this truth over the past 50 years with asinine infringements on the first amendment ranging from hate speech laws to indecency fines and even campaign finance reforms, all completely unconstitutional policies and practices that restrict people from their right to free speech. With this latest move by the democrats, meaning now that both political parties are guilty, we have moved into the end game in which we simply stop people from saying things we don't like… just like the British Empire did to us more than 225 years ago before we rose up and won of our freedom. Ironic, isn't it? When the political leaders of a free nation find that the one thing they can agree on is the abuse of their own power to suppress, censor and eliminate things, words, thoughts, opinions and people they don't agree with we have lost on all levels. History tells us that all great regimes, from the Mayans to the Roman and British Empires crumbled from within. It was not the presence or force of an outside threat that dissolved those great societies; it was their own inability to remain united as a people and dedicated to their basic values. As they chipped away and altered their principles, they became a house of cards waiting to be tumbled. It isn't Iran, North Korea or Al Qaeda that will bring America to an end, it's us. We have been too ignorant and too arrogant for too long and as we wave goodbye to things like our basic freedoms we wave goodbye to our very existence. You are free to exercise your freedom of speech and tell me that I am overreacting and being melodramatic, but if I were you I'd do it quickly… you may not have that freedom much longer.
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