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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Where does your freedom end and mine begin?

By now pretty much anyone who listens to, watches or reads the news knows what the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan is and what it's members are doing. Outrage over their picketing of Military and other funerals with horrendously offensive signs has been plastered pretty much everywhere. Most people feel, and rightfully so in my opinion, that these people should be dragged somewhere and put out of our misery.
The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision has ruled that the WBC is within their rights and protected under the 1st Amendment while they picket. They argued that the grief and pain caused by these micro-minded morons is simply a side effect of their freedom of speech. And the very disturbing thing about this ruling is that I agree with it.
Before I go any further, let me assure you that I feel what the WBC is doing is MORALLY wrong. They take the teachings of the Bible and pervert it into something hateful. "Judge you not, lest ye be judged" and my personal favorite about Sin and Stones is completely ignored by these hate mongers as they wave their signs in front of processions and outside of funerals. I personally feel that "Hanging is too good for them...They oughta be cut into little bitty pieces and buried alive." (Special Hoorah to the person that can tell me where that quote is from.)
That said, we aren't talking about morals here. The government cannot and should not produce laws and rulings that dictate morality. We are talking about individual freedoms given to every citizen of this great country no matter their beliefs. We are talking about Laws that protect everyone not just a chosen few and the WBC is well within their rights and the laws doing what they are doing.
A wise man once said, "No one follows the laws of the land more than those that wish to abuse them." WBC members never break the law at these demonstrations. You can bet that they will always be the prescribed distance away, standing on public property and following the letter of the law exactly while they brandish their hate on a stick. You can bet that if you check, you will find that all of their permits and permissions are signed, notarized and filed in triplicate. You can bet your last round of ammunition that whatever they needed to do to legally do what they are doing has been done.
Everyone has the right to exercise their First Amendment rights no matter how offensive someone else finds it. No one has the right to say, "Well I don't like what you are saying, so you can't say it." If we start doing that even with these idiots, then it is a very steep and slippery slope downwards from there.
Our country, despite all of its faults, is still the greatest country in the world with more freedom than most other nations dream of. However, these freedoms and rights have to apply to everyone no matter what or they are meaningless. If you find what the WBC is doing and believe me I do, organize your own groups and travel to where they are picketing and wave signs in their faces. Show your support to the families insulted by these people with letters and blogs. Make your protests as legal as theirs, but do everything you can to peeve them off.
In the end, it all boils down to freedom and the law. Until the WBC breaks the law, they have the freedom to say what they believe. It is offensive and stupid, but it is their right. We don't have to like it or respect them, but we do have to accept that.

1 comment:

  1. I am in the Patriot Riders. When the Westboro crowd shows up and the PR is present, Westboro leaves. Quickly.

    The presence of a few hundred bikers asking the protesters to leave generally is very effective.

    ReplyDelete