Today's screed will be all about freedom of speech. This is sometimes a tough thing to endure, just watch "Right America" on HBO. But this week, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, my alma mater, welcomed with open arms, Rick Santorum, late of the United States Senate. This is the same institution that went bat shit crazy over the impending appearance of William Ayers, late of Caribou Barbie's secret fantasies, and cancelled Ayers appearance out of concern for his safety and their endowment.Santorum, one of the dumbest humans in the Lower 48, spoke about Islam. He got two standing ovations for such gems as "Islam is all about conquering us, Christianity has never tried to conquer anybody". Who invented waterboarding again? Santorum also delivered this brilliance, "A democracy could not exist because Mohammed already made the perfect law.The Quran is perfect just the way it is, that’s why it is only written in Islamic.” Islamic? With Lent coming up, I guess I'll avoid those fish fries again because all those beer swilling martyrs keep talking Catholic.
Then there's Jonathan Lopez, who has filed suit against a professor at some city college in Los Angeles because the professor allegedly interrupted his anti gay marriage talk with a "you are a fascist bastard". I won't even dispute that the fascist bastard was wronged here. He was, if the story is true. The professor was out of line if he did that, even though tolerance for some twit reading Bible verses is really low.
The point here is freedom of speech is the most precious right we have. Sorry, gun nuts. That right needs to be celebrated, not squashed. I'll tell you what, Lopez can drop the lawsuit, the professor can be forced to listen to Santorum, and Lopez can then listen to Bill Ayers. Then everybody would be miserable and we can get back to normal.
2 comments:
I may beat Kevin to the punch... but you were able to mention her WITHOUT actually mentioning her again! I'm very impressed!
You raise a very valid point. We on the left can sometimes be almost as intolerant of the right as they are of us, and they DO have the right to express their opinions, no matter how inaccurate or odious those opinions may be. It never ceases to amaze me how self-righteous and ignorant the Santorums on the far right can be. This talk of Christians never trying to conquer anyone is either selective memory, stupidity, or both? What were "Christians" up to in the Crusades? Or when they practiced genocide on Native Americans here as part of "Manifest Destiny?" Or in the Vietnam War, or, more recently, in Iraq? Those like Mr. Santorum have the right to say whatever they like, but when what they preach is ignorantly inaccurate or downright deceitful, it is our right to call them on the carpet and criticize them.
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