Free Speech At All Costs?
Should free speech be allowed no matter what harm it may be causing to others?
This is something that must be judged case by case. I think that accepting free speech indefinitately without examining the potential costs is irresponsible.
For instance should Evangelical Christians be allowed to express their beliefs to young vulnerable children who may take the visions of hell all too seriously and subscribe to a faith through fear alone?
This would surely strengthen fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism in
What sparked this discussion was this article from the Wisconsin State Journal concerning Fred Phelps and Westboro’s recent demonstrations outside funerals.
The author came to the conclusion that
Should bereaved families be forced to grin and bear the unequivical hate targetted towards their loved one?
Thankfully this issue seems to be, being addressed in a number of states who are placing restrictions on when and where the protestors can demonstrate. However this on its own will not be enough to stop people from being hurt.
Education will go along way to easing this and similiar problems.
By teaching people about fundamentalism and its causes I’m sure over time people will become less reactionary and more understanding of the desperation behind people like Phelp’s beliefs.
We can but hope that as time passes people will rise above it and show compassion rather than bile to groups such as this.
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May 4th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
Free speech is not a problem. There are far more instances of speech suppressed than speech offending. Allow one, just one, law that suppresses free speech in any country and that law will be applied whenever and wherever the current powers determine. Keeping free speech available to the masses is the more difficult route, shutting communications down is easy. Once free speech is gone, best believe it takes human lives to retrieve it. Just ask a N Korean peasant for his honest opinion, if you dare step foot in that country yourself.
As far as demonstrating at funerals go, I want to be at Osama Bin Ladin’s funeral. I want to be there with bells on and cheering my head off, no matter how his family feels about it. So you see, offense is only about personal perspective. Too many people in power today want to change the world to enhance their personal comfort without regard for the global picture. Free speech is not a problem. It is a necessity that benefits all global peoples, or at least those who have access to it.
September 13th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Dear friends,
First of all thanks to all of you who are giving time and concern for reading my comments. I belong to a very big faith and my feelings are more different than most of yours. I do believe in God, and I am sorry to say that God is not what exactly my faith says. My faith says that God is very merciful, all beneficial and all strong. I have seen exactly the opposite of it in my life, and after all believing in God.
Can anybody here have the answers to my questions and if you have then I bet, I will fully trust God in all respects. If not, then we are all sailing in the same boat.
My first question is, have you seen anybody in this world being happy for a long while. I bet you haven’t. Because there is none. Do you know the reason. It’s pretty simple. The controller of this world, which is called God, is jealous to everyone. He cannot see anyone in peace and prosperity. If anyone tries to become rich, he gives him trouble, anyone tries to become famous, he maligns his name, anyone works hard to reach a goal in his life, he kills his near and dear ones and thus never allows anyone in peace. So such great is this asshole God. He is always having an itching in his ass and he needs to bother common people for this.
My second question is, have you ever went to any temple/mosque/church and have seen people donating money. It’s very often seen that these suckers do ask money on the name of God and they acclaim that this is for your future benefit. Now if they say that God is all powerful and can do anything, then why they need money from us. They say that we have to increase our religion/faith all over the world, and it is your duty to help your religion. Now, if such ruthless is God, and these rascals who actually ask money for themselves, who have no other business but only to fool people and loot their wealth, then why are we giving money to them. Don’t tell me that this is for your own benefit and for your future. Come on! I do not agree with you. If this is for my benefit, then tell me, if I am lacking short of money, then who is going to pay my fill, who fill provide me food if I don’t have a source of livelihood. No one. Just think and decide.
My third question, why we have to believe God. God, who is always a miscreant and he helps people with malicious intent and never to those who are sincere and hard working. When you are surviving on your own hard work and there is no source where you are getting any help, then why this society. No, it should not be there. So our only goal should be, just trust yourself and work hard without thinking anything like a good and responsible citizen of your country. Never give attention to any false leaders or missionaries. No need to have confidence in the mother fucker God who is definitely son of a bitch.
I apologize for the harsh words I have used here, but truth is truth and it cannot remain hidden and one day it has to come out. So my belief is to spread the notion of Universal brotherhood, non-violence, respect towards everyone (including animals and nature), and trust yourself. And forget those days when you were remembering God.
Thanks and regards,
Mike
September 14th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I have two comments and I may be wrong. I actually haven’t read the entire website. However on the first (previous) page it says something like Atheism and hating God. As I understood it Atheist don’t hate God, they just doubt his existance. So it’s sort of an oximoron to say that Atheists hate God. Secondly the question of “did life on earth origninate from space” is rather redundant because Earth is in space, Earth is part of space, we are suspended in space. So the question is not only redundant but irrelevant. A more proper question might be “did life on earth origninate from another planet” or “did life on earth come from another part of the Universe?” Anyway, I may have missed the point but the two comments rather urked me.