Freedom of speech might as well be eliminated from the constitution, because apparently freedom of speech doesn't exist anymore. I admit, people don't usually get arrested for things they say, but they can certainly lose their jobs at the drop of a hat (or more specifically, a non-politically correct sentence.)
Juan Williams got fired from NPR for saying he was nervous on airplanes when he saw people in Muslim garb. He didn't advocate violence to Muslims, he didn't say he hated Muslims, he merely said he was fearful of them on airplanes.
But NPR did not fire Nina Tottenburg when she stated that she wished God would give Jesse Helms or one of his grandchildren AIDS. Why didn't they fire her? Oh, yeah, NPR never liked Jesse Helms. That must be the difference.
http://www.wikio.com/video/nina-totenberg-god-giving-jesse-aids-4361443
Come now. Both comments were taken out of context and blown way out of proportion. If political discourse in this country actually dealt with an informed discussion on the issues, instead of both sides popping a vein and throwing mud at each other over every little thing, maybe we'd actually make some progress.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Freedom of speech means that the GOVERNMENT can't prevent you from saying whatever you like, but it says nothing about contractual obligations to avoid doing so. Even if NPR was being completely unreasonable, this had everything to do with contract law, and nothing to do with constitutional rights. :)
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