Freedom of speech is again in the news as a star of the reality television show "Duck Dynasty", Phil Robertson, has been suspended indefinitely by the A&E Network following his recent comments on homosexuality in a magazine interview.
"We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson's comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series 'Duck Dynasty'," the network said in a statement. "His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."
In addition to his (rather vulgar) comments on homosexuality, Robertson made stomach-turning statements about African Americans being "happier" before the Civil Rights era, and this peculiar take on world history:
“All you have to do is look at any society where there is no Jesus. I’ll give you four: Nazis, no Jesus. Look at their record. Uh, Shintos? They started this thing in Pearl Harbor. Any Jesus among them? None. Communists? None. Islamists? Zero. ... Just look at the records as far as murder goes among those four groups.”
Mr. Robertson is unfamiliar, one supposes, with the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition.
Of course, certain groups have jumped to Robertson's defense, moaning about the PC police and the denial of free speech.
Wrong.
The issue is not whether Robertson is free to speak; last I looked, that's still a part of the Constitution. The issue is really whether those who exercise their freedom of speech should have to bear the consequences of that speech.
Robertson is no uneducated rube; he has a master's degree in education and has built a million-dollar empire on selling duck calls. He should know, whether for personal or commercial reasons, when an opinion is best kept to oneself. In other words, in this country one is free to say anything, regardless of how utterly stupid, but there is no free pass on criticism or alienating your audience.
It's curious, too, that many of those who are protesting the loudest (I'm talking to you, Fox News) about Robertson's suspension are those who insist that companies should have the right to deny elements of the Affordable Care Act to employees (insurance coverage for contraception, for instance) on the grounds that those provisions violate the companies' "freedom of religion". It seems to me that if one believes that freedom of conscience extends to corporations, does that not also include the freedom of media corporation A&E to provide a platform for performers of their own choosing and to deny airtime to those who would cost them audience numbers or advertising money? Everyone has the right to free speech; no one has the "right" to be on television.
Phil Robertson has every right to his opinions, and A&E has every right to pull the plug on his airtime. Now that, Mr. Robertson, is true reality television.