Welcome to Tehran. I hope you’re happy…

Ok, so maybe I’m going a bit too far in trying to compare us to Tehran, but we’re on our way. See, in Tehran you are punished if you say or suggest anything that people find offensive to the Islamic religion. Censorship is a way of life over there. Even in less brutal countries, such as the UAE, censorship is a way of life. Having been to the UAE, I know first hand just how censored their lives are. And why is there such severe censorship in these countries? Because their culture and religion are easily offended, and they deal with this by banning anything offensive.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution says this:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

So we’re ensured, amongst other things, the freedom of speech. There are, of course, limitations on this speech, but when it comes to our opinions, we’ve essentially got a free for all. So what does that mean? I would say that it means that we’re allowed to speak our minds so long as we’re not intentionally harming others (defamation). One of the great separations between us and other parts of the world is the fact that we’re guaranteed the freedom to speak without fear of being tracked down by death squads or being jailed for offenses against the government or religion.

So this brings me to the problem that I am staring down today. The problem is that so many people in America today have grown so thin-skinned and weak, that they take offense to others’ opinions and try to punish them at every turn. This turns free-speech on its head, and is giving private citizens power over the Constitutional right to free speech. Interestingly, this disparity doesn’t apply uniformly either, which I’ll get into shortly.

This rant, of course, comes on the heels of the Don Imus incident. I don’t condone what Don said, and his employer should be able to deal with him as they see fit. But I will tirelessly fight to uphold his right to say whatever is on his mind. See, something that people fail to realize is that they don’t have to listen to Don. Nobody has to listen to him. It’s a choice. So just as somebody has the right to read or not read a book that might offend them, people also have the same right to listen or not listen to somebody who offends them. Yet the books are left alone and the radio personality is viciously attacked.

Don Imus’ comment did not cause malicious harm (see “actual malice” vs common law malice) to anybody. It may have been offensive, and may have pissed some people off, but it caused no harm. Under that pretense, his comments fall under the protection of the First Amendment. He spoke and his words were his opinion. But the thin-skinned population can’t handle opinion when it is offensive to them, and so they go on the offense and attack… And who’s on the leading edge of this attack? None other than Al Sharpton.

This is where the double standard comes in. Free speech is upheld when Mr. Sharpton speaks. Many things Al says offend me to no end, yet I don’t go out and publicly call for his downfall. I respect his right to opinion, and believe he has the right to say whatever he wants to. However, Sharpton’s attacks are generally directed towards the white majority in America, which means that his rights aren’t questioned because he isn’t offending a minority group. These same people also say vicious things about the government, and in particular the Bush administration, yet nobody attacks their right to their opinions. Why? Because they’re not offending a thin-skinned group. But whenever the situation is reversed, the concept of rights goes right out the window. It’s like they believe in all rights for some, some rights for others. It would seem that the whining ninnies out there truly believe, for some reason, that the full spectrum of rights only apply to them.

So the majority population is falling under censorship, and the worrisome part is that it is citizen driven censorship rather than government driven. People are becoming more and more willing to violate the Constitutional rights of others because they can’t handle being offended or angered by the opinions of others. But let me tell you this much… If you don’t want to eventually be living in a Tehran-style society where anything that might offend somebody or something is censored under threat of punishment, you had better take a pill and thicken up a bit. Stop your whining, stop your bitching… Deal with it or risk losing everything.