Freedom of speech is negotiable

I had an entire other blog that I was going to post, but that shall wait. I would like to briefly give you an idea on freedom of speech as it exists here in the good old United States of America.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

That is the first Amendment to the Constitution. In it, our right to freely exchange ideas is guaranteed. We can say what we want, when we want, where we want without any censorship! Right? Well... not necessarily. While the law does grant this, our government and society has created a feeling that as of now would make it seem otherwise.

I recently had some dealings with a certain organization (who for the purposes that this blog exists will remain nameless) that brought into question my ability to speak my mind. I will not get into all the details, but since my opinion differed from that of this organization I was fired. Sure, the official reason may be different, but if you read between the lines there lies the real reason. Now, I was not told that by law I am not allowed to speak my mind, but I was still fired for it and was asked to remove any and all mention of the organizations name from my former public blog. I complied initially and removed the original "offensive" blog. However, I did not completely comply as I went on to name the organization in a subsequent blog. Anyway, this is my own little story, but there are others.

Think about the movie "Farenheight 911" for a minute. Now, I think this is one of the most blatantly biased and therefore pointless documentary movies I've ever seen. My own feelings aside, one of the biggest reasons that Moore gives in the film about how the current administration has lied to the American people and infringed on our rights and such is the Patriot Act. He gives the argument and from what I remember, one example, that if you speak out against the administration or the Patriot Act then there will be black suits upon you like white on rice! I have one problem with this... why was Moore not a victim of this censorship? If the Government is really trying to infringe on people's rights to speak their mind in the way that you are lead to believe by Moore and others of his ilk, then why are there not more stories like the one featured in his film? There is obviously enough conspiracy talk and anti-government literature and propaganda out there for the government to warrant such measures if that condition exists in the P.A. So, am I saying it doesn't? Well, no. I have no idea if this is a part of the Patriot Act. I do however believe that a more dangerous form of censorship has been put in place by patriotic rhetoric and popular opinion; dissent.

Yes, boys and girls, dissent. That one little word that has sparked revolution, martyrdom, and numerous movies and television shows throughout history is the real freedom of speech killer. If you waver from popular opinion even in the smallest, the staunchest defender of the party line and the American creed will be on your back like a rabid cat. If you have extreme views, they will try and show you how you are wrong. Saying something against the government? Well, then you are un-patriotic, un-American, and you hate freedom. Calling into question the supposed Christian character of a leader of your nation? You must be a communist (or worse; a liberal!). Even talking about how reality television is all scripted and fake. Nope, they do all that stuff on their own! That survival guy, he's out there by himself (ignoring the 10 different camera shots, 8 of which occur from the air). I'm not lying about that last one. I really did argue with some girls about reality television and they still defended it.

I hope I've made my point here, as this blog is now long past due. I will say this in closing. There is still that room where people will debate with you and listen to your ideas. I've learned that recently. However, even if they listen, even if they don't shoot you down right away, there is still that "feeling." There is still that overreaching, America is un-fallible, "how dare you talk that way?” mentality prevalent in our culture. Dissent is discouraged, open questions are not allowed and “if you don’t like it here, then you can just giiit out!” No thanks, I think I’ll stay here. Someone has to fight the powers that be, right?