Of course I am for freedom of speech. I absolutely believe a person has the right to gather and speak their mind but the 1st amendment is about peaceful gathering and since the framers appear to not be hatemongers nor had the technology that we have today, I am sure did not have the hate speech spewing and influencing the weak minded or mentally unstable.
There is a lack of accountability and respect for different opinions and I am guilty of this as well. I don't call for threats or death upon people who differ in my opinion but I do say many unkind things. I have said these people are stupid or even worse.
I was taught if you cannot say something nice to not say something at all. We do not allow on this site hate speech. Thank Goodness but many of us just respond to the hatred that is dumped on us day in and day out from the right. The freedom of speaking with hatefilled almost riot talk must be stopped and it spews over the airwaves from mostly the right winged talking heads.
We need the fairness doctrine reintroduced. Words have meaning and it leads to
paranoia, fear, hatred, and carnage. The scriptures , for those interested DO say
From out of the heart, the mouth speaketh
The whole idea of death and destruction come from a thought and a thought is spoken and then sometimes acted upon. Some of this country has a lust for gore, disrespect and carnage. No one sane believes that this country can heal until we do something about the hatemongering.
The Churches need to get out of politics and tend to the business of scripture as we are not puppets and can interpret our own take of such matters. Church is for attending to the matters of the heart and spirit and not the place for preaching politics or news stations or even opinions. They are supposed to be a refuge and comfort.
I am the daughter of a minister. My Daddy never preached politics or as Mama used to say, " On the world". He was not their judge. He never did that. My Father, who recently broke a hip and will be 90 in less than 30 days is on the mend. He lives his life as if everyday is his last. He has done that since I have known him. He gave his last dollar and he never took a salary.
He did have sharp opinions for televison evangelists. He never spoke it from the pulpit but we were well aware that he knew that were not what they claimed. He never spoke on money except for quoting scripture of giving to the hungry and poor.
My Daddy never could handle a dollar. He would give it away. He worked for years for Avon and draws a whopping 36.00 a month retirement for 30 years of work. Our family never did without. He worked in mills, and labored in fields. Daddy loves kids and cannot stand blowhards. One of the last conversations he had before The Alzheimers took hold strongly was short and not so sweet. Our pastor from a church we had attended in Ga came over and he wanted to speak to Daddy as Daddy had not been in attendance at any church for some time. The last sermon he had heard the fellow preach did not set well with Daddy. I must have been not in attendance as I did not know what got Daddy so riled until later. The preacher was preaching on money.
Daddy called him on it on Daddy's turf. He told the pastor not to come talk to him. He said,
" YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for what you are preaching from that pulpit and you are not preaching the truth. You are not preaching truth and harping on money for your salary. You are no preacher in my opinion, you are a fundraiser.
My Mother got up and walked out of a church when some preacher in the fifties was preaching on the evils of Elvis Presley. ( She was a fan)
I remember I quit attending the church in Ga not long after that. I know the preacher left the house and we were kind of in shock because we did not hear the sermon that brought Daddy to tell the minister to his face what he thought but Daddy was right. He refused to watch anything but local news and he turned it off when people opined.
He thought Rush Limbaugh was a hateful joke and Bush a nut but he never spoke it outside this immediate family. I have no idea how he contained himself.
The Rush Limbaugh's, The Hannity's, the Glen Beck's are as good as pulling triggers IMO as much as the NRA fueling the fires of fear. We must look at both amendments.
We must redefine hate speech from free speech. We must be allowed to disagree without inciting violence. We as a country. We need to be a little more like my Daddy. Daddy, by the way was a yellow dog democrat. I love you Daddy.
I put up this video years ago regarding Glen Beck. It is true.
We have to redefine what is acceptable dialogue in the country without fear of losing our first amendment rights. They have IMO been abused with the evil of mankind's hatred and lust for money. Maybe we need to teach manners in school again. Maybe we need to have Dale Carnegie classes and maybe we need just plain old common horse sense like we were brought up with culture and not in a pig trough.
I make take some heat here on this idea of reviewing what needs to happen in this country but it is something I think that really needs to be examined.