At what point do we draw the line on ‘free speech’ and at what point do we cross the line for having too much censorship?  This is an interesting topic on many levels and for a number of reasons. It’s common knowledge that Americans have the right to free speech, which can include a wide variety of ways of ‘speech’ especially with the way that technology has developed.  What is considered a peaceful protest?  When it causes no disruption to an event?  When it isn’t hurtful towards an individual, family, or community?  Or a combination of the two?

Please note that this article is full of my own opinion and thoughts.
At what point do we draw the line on ‘free speech’ and at what point do we cross the line for having too much censorship?  This is an interesting topic on many levels and for a number of reasons. It’s common knowledge that Americans have the right to free speech, which can include a wide variety of ways of ‘speech’ especially with the way that technology has developed.  What is considered a peaceful protest?  When it causes no disruption to an event?  When it isn’t hurtful towards an individual, family, or community?  Or a combination of the two?

When the writers of the constitution and amendments were living, there was no need to address what kind of free speech and censorship should be applied to people on the Internet and other new media outlets that have emerged in the last, say, ten years. We have improved the technology of the Internet and cell phones, many dwindling newspapers are willing to grasp at straws for any story, information sent directly to us through a system that we cannot physically see; the list is countless.  This is where the question comes in of where we draw the line on free speech.

Some organizations claim to be for the family or America, while they are really people who are promoting a religion in one way or another.  This is visible in the American Family Association (AFA) which claims to be Christian, but does not seem (from what I can tell) to recognize the fact that in America we have the freedom of religion.  Their title, to me, is misleading to many people who might not realize the Christian values this organization supports.  That’s not to say I have a problem with Christian values, just some of the ones that this organization supports.  It seems that it would be more fittingly titled the Christian-American Family Association or something of the like.  While they may not be derogatory, they do specifically target many things that are very hurtful to many, many people by standing behind God.  We must keep in mind though, that this is their God, and not necessarily everyone’s.  

A branch of the AFA, One Million Moms (OMM), is a “conservative, pro-family” organization and is “strictly an online campaign focusing primarily on the entertainment media (television, music, movies, etc.). The goal of this campaign is to stop the exploitation of children by such media.” 

Sounds like a reasonable idea.  Protect the children, and censor anything they may encounter that goes against what you want them to believe.  Obviously, it is up to parents to raise their children, not society.  But should we not expect parents to also raise their children in such a way that the child can make decisions on his or her own?  If a parent is so worried about what their child is going to be exposed to, then that parent shouldn’t be looking at the media to fix that, they need to be looking at their own parenting. 

Both the AFA and OMM start sounding more like Christian-conformists and less like Americans who promote the natural rights that we, as United States citizens, have.  This also ties into the discussion of what should be censored, and what people shouldn’t personally allow themselves to be affected by.  As for the free speech debate, we’ll need to take a look at another organization in particular: the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC)

The WBC was founded in 1955 by Fred Phelps, and continues to be a prominent thing in the public eye.  Still continuing, especially now with his daughter Megan Phelps, the WBC can easily be described as a hate-group that also seems to pay little attention to the fact that their belief isn’t necessarily the only choice for Americans.  Known for their protests and picketing events, the WBC can often be seen carrying around signs with phrases such as “God hates fags”, “Thank God for 9/11”, and “God: USA’s terrorist” written on the signs.  One might wonder if these people are against God or America by the way they act.  The WBC is also well known for travelling nationally to protest funerals of homosexuals and fallen soldiers, as well as a number of other funerals of prominent people.

Many of their signs and phrases are very hurtful not only to an entire community of people, but society as a whole.  Should this kind of action of free speech be stopped entirely, or at least forced to settle down?  If their actions are hurtful to grieving families and people who are undeserving of such hate directed towards them, should the law require them to stop?  Where do we draw the line on free speech?  Is this an abuse of a right and taking things too far and being suppressive towards millions of people?

See what answers you can come up with to these questions.  At what point do you let your faith become something to hide behind for an ulterior purpose?

For an example of what OMM does, check out this “issue” listed on their website.  When reading the reasons they want to shut down the show, it becomes quite clear how silly they are being.

http://onemillionmoms.com/IssueDetail.asp?id=340

And to read more about the WBC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

 



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