Is it OK to Censor?

I am proud to be American. I do not agree with everything our Government has always done. I do not spout that politicians are all good guys. In fact, I’m pretty annoyed that so many of them are, in my opinion, ineffective and/or in it for themselves. But when it comes down to it, we’ve still got it pretty good compared to so many people across the planet. Why is this, exactly?

 

The United States has been touted as the Land of Opportunity since the first waves of migration began centuries ago. Is everyone who lands upon our shores an overnight success? No. Certainly not. But when it comes down to it, life here is pretty darned good. What makes us so very different? Is it the purple mountain majesty? Is it the amber-waves of grain? One can turn to a variety of lines from our patriotic anthems, but when it comes down to it I think our advantage can be summed up in five words, “…the land of the free...”

 

“Freedom” in its most simplistic analysis means the ability to do what one wants to do. And within this Country, this includes the freedom of expression. Unlike Communist nations, which we worked so hard to oppose in the previous century, in a free country one can protest and demonstrate – rather loudly – against the very government and system that assures the very freedom to do so. This may seem a bit ungrateful to some, but ultimately it is one of the best examples of freedom that we have.

 

Within the United States, one can openly complain about pretty much anything. One can complain about the government. One can complain about other people. One can complain about religion. Name a subject, and one can demonstrate.

 

Yet… is this necessarily a good thing? Let us turn to Germany, for instance. In modern-day Germany, the government is fairly open-minded. Berlin is a cosmopolitan city of international renown. And ultimately, they are pretty darned tolerant of many things – except for intolerance. Neo-nazi parties are verboten. Now, I think the rationale for that is pretty obvious. Germany will carry now, and forever more, the stigma of atrocities committed by the Nazis in World War II. It only makes sense to ban such parties. But along the same lines, they also ban things like Scientology. Why? Because, they argue, it is the same type of cult-mentality that the Nazis used. Now personally, I cannot say that I disagree. From what I understand of Scientology, it crosses the line in my thinking from religion to cult. And cults are just… well… freaky. Here in the U.S., whether we like it or not, we have to tolerate the cult church of Scientology, whereas in Germany, they do not. Who is better off? I don’t know.

 

Personally, I love living in a Country that allows freedom of expression and freedom of religion. But it is important to recognize that such freedom also allows abuses. One example that comes to mind is the Westborough Baptist Church. Far from what I would consider to be a religion, this group of sickos focuses on one thing and one thing only – hatred. Church founder, Fred Fuktard Phelps has earned notoriety through his hate-filled demonstrations against homosexuals. Seriously – anyone who shows up at a funeral or memorial service of a stranger and uses it as a platform to launch horrible, hateful vitriol needs some serious psychiatric evaluation!

 

Now truth be told, I just do not take such asshats seriously. I can’t. I try not to even be angry by what they do. Why? Because it is impossible to take them seriously. They are just sick in the head – no more, no less. But it makes me angry that the platform of our nation that allows public demonstration gives them the right – the RIGHT - to do so. I wouldn’t change how our country works. I recognize and will defend the right to public expression of belief. But it just makes me so angry that they are able to abuse that freedom.

 

I myself am not a victim. I’ve had to deal with a few protesters here and there, but I have not had to suffer the slings and arrows of the military families out there who have faced dual-hardship. It is bad enough to have a child, or a spouse, or a loved one come back from overseas combat in a coffin. The pain must be insufferable. But to have such pain conflated by a group of freaks who show up at the funeral saying that the serviceman deserved death because our government tolerates homosexual behavior? And no folks, I’m not kidding. This is the very thing that this freaky cult does on a regular basis.

 

The internal-battle can be intense.

 

“They are horrible people!”, I think to myself.

But they have a right to demonstrate.

 

They are being intentionally hurtful!

But they have a right to demonstrate.

 

They are doing no good to anyone, anywhere!

But they have a right to demonstrate.

 

They are just mean, mean, mean, MEAN!

But they have a right to demonstrate.

 

I think what bothers me the most about this idiotic group is that they have inspired some blind-sheep followers to act in a similar fashion. On the day that my husband and I went to be legally married in the State of California, people walked around the Courthouse carrying protest signs with conveniently edited Bible quotations. They don’t know us. Nothing that we do has any effect on them. But they sure as heck had no problem showing up to put a damper on our special moment.

 

For those of you out there in reader-land who are married, think back to the day you looked into your spouse’s eyes to make a life-long commitment. Now imagine for a moment how it might feel to look over a few feet and see somebody carrying a hurtful sign of protest, and possibly even shouting into a bullhorn. Such a thing is inconceivably appalling to even consider, yes?

 

That is what happened to me. This is the very sort of thing happening today. Why?

 

Because we are the land of the free.