It’s interesting how my political views have evolved within just the last ten years. Well, it’s interesting to me. I don’t really care how you feel about it.
Growing up in Utah, you kind of just assume everyone is Mormon and Republican. But when people venture outside of the mountain west (particularly when you leave the country), you notice – holy rusted metal, Batman! – there are a lot of different people with a lot of different philosophies.
I remember the first time I thought I might be liberal. I was in an American government class my senior year of high school. My teacher made a very moving point by leading us to believe that then-President George W. Bush had implemented a military draft. Before then I had been only vaguely conscious of politics, and it served as a hard awakening.
Fast-forward ten years, and I’m still not entirely sure where I stand; somewhere between the liberal wing of the Republican Party with the likes of Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon and the socialist tendencies of Bernie Sanders.
Clearly, I have a hard time defining my political ideology, no matter how hard I try. Though I think it’s safe to say my views generally lay left-of-center.
Bored? I don’t blame you. Bare with me, people, I’ll try to think of a good wiener joke.
The biggest issue I have with liberalism is the need they feel to pander to people’s feelings. Political correctness is nothing more than the advocacy of limiting free speech under the guise of social progress. That’s to say nothing ill of social progress; civil liberties need to protected and developed. But part of that is protecting the Constitutional rights we have.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what just a few men smarter than myself have said on the subject of freedom of speech;
* “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear.” – George Orwell
* “I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an ass of yourself.” – Oscar Wilde
* “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for those we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” – Noam Chomsky
The question then becomes to what extreme the freedom of speech is defended. I once heard someone say that using the word the “n-word” is like screaming “fire” in a crowded theater. Well, no it’s not. Screaming “fire” in a crowded theater is reckless endangerment. Saying “nigger” is, at best, insensitive; at worst, bigoted and vile. It’s still not putting anyone in harm’s way. What it is is a sad reminder that racism still exists. But I’ve heard people use it no racial context.
However, I’ve heard the argument of freedom of expression used in looking at pictures and watching movies of gruesome death. To me, this argument has no merit; the deceased cannot give their consent to be used as a sick form of pornography. As soon as someone releases a video of a suicide (assisted or self-applied), then perhaps you can make a case for it, and I sincerely believe there are those who would do it. Until then, your point is invalid.
I guess I promised you a wiener joke. Well, here it is;
[CENSORED]
positivelyexistential 