Monday, March 14, 2005

Free Speech No More?

The question(part of a larger discussion) was this:

Just how far can free speech go before people say “No More!”?

The example provided was South Park’s "The Aristocrats".

I wasn’t offended by this. If people really do those things that Cartman says, it’s weird and not any of my business.

“But what about the children?”, we are told to ask. “
What of the baby being ****** and being used to be ****** with?” “What of the poor children hearing about it?”

If we find out that somewhere a baby is being ****** or being used to **** with then we should stop the people doing it and they should be made unable to have, or to come near, children. For as long as they shall live.

If the children manage to hear Cartman say this, they’ll think it’s weird behavior and they’ll decide if it’s funny or gross. Let’s give them(and ourselves) some credit...kids watching South Park are already potty-trained.

Dirty words or images aren’t going to hurt anyone. “Belief” is what hurts people. When someone believes in something there is no stopping them. They’ll hurt anyone...unless what they believe in is “not hurting others”....and they’ll still hurt someone inadvertently.

“Belief” is what’s important.

That’s why America needs to believe that Social Security is about to belly flop.
Why America needs to believe that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and gay marriage will somehow hurt them.

More importantly(less sarcastically), it’s why Americans need to believe that a single-payer, universal health care plan will cost equal to or less than what they’re already paying and allow everyone to enjoy it.

I want Americans to believe we can quit smoking and lose weight without paying money to a PO BOX for a pamphlet, a patch or a pill.

I want commercials on TV that tell me to believe in myself. A commercial that tells me to believe in the possibilies and the potential I have already, not the potential I can buy for possibilities defined by companies trying to sell me their stuff.

That’s free speech!

So, while I don’t actually want Cartman talking disgusting I’m glad I got to see it. If I find I don’t like it I’ll not listen to it again.
If I don’t want my children to watch it, I’ll make sure my children don’t watch it.
I won’t stop anyone else from watching it and if I think it’s funny, I’ll share it.

Just like some people share versions of Christian Love that I don’t find Christian or Loving. I choose to disagree.

It seems to me that children should be taught “belief” and be free to hear anyone’s speech.