I tried to underline the third and fourth words of the title of this post, but my blog server is apparently malfunctioning. So let the reader know that I intend to emphasize our responsibilities that come inherently along with our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. I'm sure we have all heard the clichés, "Freedom isn't free...", and, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
My point is that we all must respect the rights of our citizens to exercise their right of free speech, so long as it is done peacefully, and harmlessly, even if the speaker is spouting racist vitriol, or neo-Nazi dogma. But, in the face of violent, hateful propaganda, we have a responsibility to proclaim it for what it is, and denounce it for the evil intent that motivates it.
That also goes for the Leftist propaganda that motivates the protests that have recently erupted on college campuses, and led to the violence that has followed, and sometimes even preceded, the speaking of Conservative speakers. The protesters' opinions are welcome, their violent rioting is not!!! Colleges need to teach the responsibility, as well as the freedoms that the first amendment guarantees. Unfortunately, many of our so-called academicians have completely lost site of the value of tolerating opposing opinions, especially on College campuses, which have traditionally been the format for peacefully discussing unpopular, and even unpleasant opinions. Many campuses, especially the predominantly Liberal ones, have degenerated into bastions of censorship, lest their students should be horribly exposed to opposing views to their Liberal teachings. If they are teaching the truth, intelligent students should be able to recognize the lies of opposing opinions. If they try so hard to censor the opposition, what does that say for the "truth" that they are teaching???
There are legal, and appropriate ways to silence unpleasant opinions, that are deemed to be harmful to the listeners. If the College feels their students will be irreparably harmed by hearing an unpopular opinion spoken on their campus, they should not invite them to speak, in the first place, let alone offer to pay them enormous fees to do so. If the speaker feels slighted, they have the right to denounce the decision publically. Then the general public can decide who is right, and decide if they want their children to attend the College, or not, based on the perception of openness, or bigotry, that the College presents. But, the perception of openness, is not fairly expressed by allowing "students" (and sometimes paid activists from off campus) to violently riot, without the full prosecution for their unlawful behavior. I suspect that those who are arrested are released the next day, and their charges are eventually dropped. How is that not tantamount to encouraging more of the bad behavior that got them arrested, in the first place. There is a Constitutional right to, "peaceably assemble for the redress of grievances", but how does wanton rioting qualify as "peaceful"???
Likewise, the peaceful demonstrators of the N.F.L. football teams, that refused to stand respectfully for the playing of the National Anthem, before this weekend's games, have the constitutionally protected right to do so, as previous decisions of the Supreme Court have categorized similar demonstrations to also be included in the first amendment protection of free speech. Therefore, President Trump's call for the owners of the offending team players to fire them, is unconstitutional, and the owners who might do so could quickly expect lawsuits that they would lose, and they would unnecessarily be enriching the coffers of the A.C.L.U. (that greedy, twisted organization, that routinely manipulates the laws to enrich themselves, with no concept of truth, or honesty, motivating their efforts).
The team owners do not have the right to fire the players, in this case; but the fans do!!! In fact the fans can fire the whole team, if that's what it takes to get their disapproval across to the players. First, the fans should "boo" the players throughout the anthem, if that doesn't work, they should walkout of the stadium before the game starts, perhaps even demanding their ticket money to be refunded. When the team notices the walkout of large numbers of fans, and the players notice that they are playing in front of many empty seats, they may recognize their salaries at not paid by the owners, but by the fans, whom they are cavalierly offending by their belligerent demonstrations. When they realize that their demonstrations may soon be effecting their own pocketbooks, some serious reconsiderations may take place. That may go so far as for the fans at home to change the stations on their T.V.'s, also in protest (of their protests). Perhaps the players will get the message when star free agents are not resigned, because the team can not afford their asking price.
There are many forms of Constitutionally guaranteed rights of "free speech"; one might call it "freedom of viewing, or not!!!
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