There is no right to not be offended Students at UC Berkeley have sought to block Bill Maher from speaking at commencement because he has offended Islam. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of a California school district to ban American flag t-shirts on Cinco de Mayo on the grounds that it would offend Hispanic students. Christian chaplains in the military are being told they cannot pray in Jesus name because it would cause offense. In a free country, there is no right to not be offended. Bill Maher offends me just the way he looks--and when he talks--good grief--offense just escalates. I click on to a new channel as fast as I can. (I only see him when I am in a hotel room--usually looking for a hockey game). I dont want to use the power of government to ban Bill Maher. If I dont want to be offended by him, it is my job to go some place else. He has the right to put out his snarky, inane babble. I have no right to not be offended by Bill Maher. If I am in a situation where I cant simply walk away, then my option is to stand up on my own two feet and state what I believe in response to Bill Maher. This is what I did when I was a guest on his show about twenty years ago. If someone says something you dont like either ignore them, leave the room, or confront them with your position. You do have all of those choices. You have no right to silence the speech of anyone else just because you are offended. Of course, if someone is in your home, your business, your church, etc. you have the right to ask them to leave if they are offensive. But you have no right to generally silence them. They have to respect your turf, you have to respect their right to speak just about anyplace else. We are not merely becoming a nation of children with our inability to handle criticism. We are losing our freedom. I am offended by those who hate freedom. But I will not seek to silence them. I intend simply to best them in open debate in the public square.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 13:43:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015