Freedom of speech . . . has nation in pig sty

Kaye Grogan
February 8, 2005

How sad that something as powerful as 'freedom of speech' has brought a great nation down. The very freedom that should be cherished has turned a nation into a quagmire of pig sties. What a sad state of affairs, that the freedom patriot Patrick Henry was willing to die for, has become so soiled, and beyond recognition.

Turn on the television, and you'll be inundated with ads, sitcoms, movies, saturated with violence, vulgarity, and scantily clad men and women engaging in sexual encounters. Flip over to the news talk shows, and you'll be exposed to congressional members as guests, who complain about how things are so out-of-control. Tell us something we don't already know! Like how you're planning on getting things back under control . . . for starters.

And how sad money has caused such a magnitude of corruption. When some of the rich powerful people realize to what extent they've been willing to sell their souls out for, in favor of fat bank accounts, it will be way too late . . . when the funeral march plays.

There comes a time and place, when crossroads should make a person reevaluate their lives, and see if they are going down the wrong street and opt to get on the right street. No amount of endorsing bad behavior is going to make it right. Even if street drugs are made legal, this will not stop the destructive one-way street to doom, the drug users are on. The drug users are already shackled to an addiction, and legalizing the drugs is not going to miraculously take away the end results, which is eventually death from heart failure, overdoses or suicide.

Many people who thought the nineties were bad — would probably welcome those years back, in comparison to how things are going in the 21st century so far.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — has laid the law down about obscenity laws being violated on television and radio. So, how does the Fox channel get by with airing a commercial where a young woman is used to poke fun at a ruling made by the FCC last year, concerning the exposure of Janet Jackson's chest, by pretending her top is falling off? A good question, and one that definitely needs answering. Evidently, these folks are getting a kick out of defying rules. Probably, because they know a smack on the wrist is worth their end goal.

What happened to the three minute delay before airing commercials in a Super Bowl time slot, by responsible television officials? This is responsibility at its worst.

The Internet is a great tool for education, but the World Wide Web at your fingertips has turned into a cesspool reeking of vile pornography, in which pornographers use emails, and URL addresses (that seem innocent), to peddle their filth. Even if the filth was covered under the "freedom of speech" and "freedom of expression," the freedom ended the minute the "unsolicited" disgusting trash arrived in my email box. This is called "infringing" on someone else's rights. And the freedom buck stopped there — the minute they violated the "spam" law. It's one thing to go and buy the filth, and another all together, to have it shoved "unwillingly" down your throat.

Recently, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin posted a few vulgar, nasty emails that she received via email from liberals who disagreed with one of her articles, for all to see just how vicious they can be. Good for her! Ms. Malkin is smart enough to know — the more liberals attack conservatives, the more determined they are, to express their personal opinion. No, you don't have the right to intimidate writers like Ms. Malkin. There's a way to disagree with opinions without being mean-spirited. Didn't you learn this in high school during debates?

Bloggers use anonymous nicknames to trash people they don't agree with. If you read some of the nastiness they post, you'd be hiding behind a nickname too. Makes one wonder what kind of upbringing did these people have? It's apparent they didn't learn to respect themselves, so it's not hard to understand how they can be so disrespectful to those they trash.

Internet Service Providers, (ISP) and Internet search engines need to be held to the same kind of standard as the FCC is supposed to be holding broadcasters to. After all, Internet connections are over the airwaves, the same way as other broadcasting systems operate.

Just because pornography filth is "universal" and available online, does not excuse the United States from being responsible for what goes on in the United States. It's time (way past time) — for lawmakers to get on with fulfilling their "sworn to uphold" duty obligations.

The notion that "freedom of speech" gives one the right to defame, and slander someone publicly is a "misconception." Giving an opinion, and calling someone bad names is two different things.

When all is said and done, the way you choose to exercise freedom of speech, says a lot about who you really are inside. And it's obvious, there's a lot of "pitch black" hearts out there . . . that will eventually become self-destructive.

Freedom of speech . . . has nation in pig sty