Spoken Thoughts

Welcome back, let's skip the foreplay and get to the point. 
The greatest threat to our way of life in the wake of this political assassination attempt in Arizona is not the perceived threat to the Second Amendment.  The Second Amendment isn't going anywhere.  Get used to it, hippies, guns are here to stay.  Like it or not.  It is for countless reasons that I neither fear nor celebrate the attack on this American freedom, considered sacrosanct by some and archaic by others.  But the main reason I don't take a distinct side on it is because it doesn't matter.  Reform the policy but preserve the liberty.  Right...like that's ever gonna happen.  Anyway, we face a far greater threat that demands my immediate ranting...err...I mean attention.   My immediate attention. 

We have a passionate political discourse in this country.  We always have.  We have nuts from both the right and left inciting hate speech and extremism.  We have a culture of violence.  Notice the syntax.  Not specifically 'political' violence, just violence.  Violence of all kinds.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn that we are virtually alone in our love of "torture porn" movies like Saw and Hostel.  I think it's a little to real to the rest of the world.  But for us, it's entertainment.  We like to watch things die.  Slowly.  And often. 

We step into dangerous territory when we confuse this simple verbage.  It's easy to say we're politcally violent.  It may even be slightly accurate, but it's far too shortsighted.  That's like saying Africa has a small AIDs problem.  All but one word in the sentence is completely accurate:  small.  Let's apply that same logic to the following sentence:  America is politically violent.  All but one word is completely accurate.  Guess which one?  Exactly!  So let's call a spade a spade, not a 'darkish, pointy, round thing that's vertically challenged'.  Let us strive for accuracy in our syntax.  Especially when discussing such delicate issues. 

Faulty or innacurate syntax can be dangerous.  That childhood rhyme "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me" - that's total crap.  Toss that one in the Santa Claus-Toothfaily-and-other-lies-we-tell-our-children pile. 

Words can hurt a lot when those words pose a danger to our ability to use whatever words we choose.  Seems like a contradiction, and it may be, but so may be slander lawsuits and gag orders in a country with free speech.  We'll save that one for another day. 

We have enough contradictions that already embattle and restrict our First Amendment, and the more we push to limit the political hate speech and rhetoric that some people falsely see as responsible for the attempted murder of a genuine public servant, the less freedom we will have when this debate subsides and this day is long forgotten. 

I've never before understood how people make the parallel between liberalism and facism.  The past few days have brought me amazing clarity on how volatile the line between protection and restriction is.  Enforcing limitations upon political discourse will protect no one.  Instead it will harm everyone in ways we cannot see when we are blinded by reaction. 

I don't like Glenn Beck.  Or Sean Hannity.  Or Rush Limbaugh, or Bill O'Reilly, or...what?  wait, that can't be.  Surely you jest.  Chris Matthews?  Really?  Yes, him too.  Or anyone else that tries to present their opinion as if it's news.  Except maybe people who are funny about it, like Jon Stewart.  Everyone else can shut the hell up until they have facts to report.  Fox news can't seem to tell the difference, so they are invited to shut the hell up forever. 

As much as I'd like these people to be removed from the public discourse, along with a looooooong list of others, even assholes and morons have the right to speak freely to anyone willing to listen.  They have that right because we live in the US of A, and if you take away free speech will just be a big shithole of a country that can't educate it's kids or pay it's bills.  Yes, the line is that thin these days. 

So I encourage you to make this change, America.  This one little change.  Hell, you can even replace one of you many already-defunct New Year's Resolutions with this easy-to-attain goal: 

If you don't like it, don't participate in it, listen to it, or watch it. 

Make that decision anywhere that you can.  We can't always choose what our tax dollars do, but we sure as hell can decide what our radio's, televisions, and expendable dollars do.  Stop yelling at the TV, and stop letting the TV yell at you.  Change the fucking channel.  Just don't you dare tell anyone they can't talk.  Free Speech is the one thing that makes me say about America that line that the wealthy and white have been using for oh so long:  "Love it, or leave it".  It is not subject to change, nor should it be.

Thanks again for reading, or if it's your first time then what took you so long?  Agree or disagree, turn off the TV and think.