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No free lunch, no free speech
Jan. 8th, 2011 07:59 pmOriginally published at http://matscigirl.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/there-is-no-free-lunch-there-is-no-free-speech/ Feel free to leave comments there or here. After Rep. Giffords was shot, I made a comment on FB regarding the Sarah PAC poster that used gun cross-fire targets. It resulted in 22 comments, some heated, and I decided to take down the post. Here is why:
Like many people, I am saddened by the shootings in Tucson. In all candor, I’m not surprised – political tension in the United States is at an all time high. It is a taut string, humming in the background of the economic collapse, the sound of our nerves fraying in an uncertain future.
Each person is accountable for their actions – and in that same spirit we are accountable for the environment we create with our words.
In no way am I suggesting the shooting was act of political terrorism. Who knows? It could be a deranged kid, a twenty-first century Mark Chapman or John Hinckley.
Regardless of why, it behooves us to not point fingers, not allow our grief to fan the flames of anger and resentment. I call myself out – on Facebook I made a comment about the March 2010 Sarah [Palin] PAC poster that had various candidates marked on a map with the cross-hairs of a gun-sight. My friends responded with a variety of comments, most mirroring my own, others affirming the culpability of the shooter. All comments were respectful yet there was an urgency and a passion that could have easily led to unkind speech.
I took the post down – not to censor opinions but to make sure that I – and by extension my friends – do not become another piece of tinder. The box is filled with talk radio, blogs, shouting heads on television, op-eds in the handful of newspapers that remain.
Let us acknowledge the real US problems – the deficit, unemployment, wars extending into their second decade, failing public education, and accelerating costs for food, for medicine, for life’s basic needs.
What is the right approach? Who knows? Jack London, it is said, was torn between the idea that a person is an individual and responsible for his or her own life. Yet he opened his home and nearly went broke supporting those that could not carry their own weight.
Many of us share this conflict – my own politics are no different. I believe in universal healthcare. I am firmly against gun control. I am against the death penalty. I support an active military defense program.
Regardless where we stand, where the cows’ path our beliefs meander, we must bring our best ideas . We must build on the strengths of our characters and channel our emotions to create that better union.
To paraphrase Milton Friedman, there is no free speech. Our thoughts become our actions. Our words are rocks falling into the water of influence. Our obligation is to speak with wisdom.
Like many people, I am saddened by the shootings in Tucson. In all candor, I’m not surprised – political tension in the United States is at an all time high. It is a taut string, humming in the background of the economic collapse, the sound of our nerves fraying in an uncertain future.
Each person is accountable for their actions – and in that same spirit we are accountable for the environment we create with our words.
In no way am I suggesting the shooting was act of political terrorism. Who knows? It could be a deranged kid, a twenty-first century Mark Chapman or John Hinckley.
Regardless of why, it behooves us to not point fingers, not allow our grief to fan the flames of anger and resentment. I call myself out – on Facebook I made a comment about the March 2010 Sarah [Palin] PAC poster that had various candidates marked on a map with the cross-hairs of a gun-sight. My friends responded with a variety of comments, most mirroring my own, others affirming the culpability of the shooter. All comments were respectful yet there was an urgency and a passion that could have easily led to unkind speech.
I took the post down – not to censor opinions but to make sure that I – and by extension my friends – do not become another piece of tinder. The box is filled with talk radio, blogs, shouting heads on television, op-eds in the handful of newspapers that remain.
Let us acknowledge the real US problems – the deficit, unemployment, wars extending into their second decade, failing public education, and accelerating costs for food, for medicine, for life’s basic needs.
What is the right approach? Who knows? Jack London, it is said, was torn between the idea that a person is an individual and responsible for his or her own life. Yet he opened his home and nearly went broke supporting those that could not carry their own weight.
Many of us share this conflict – my own politics are no different. I believe in universal healthcare. I am firmly against gun control. I am against the death penalty. I support an active military defense program.
Regardless where we stand, where the cows’ path our beliefs meander, we must bring our best ideas . We must build on the strengths of our characters and channel our emotions to create that better union.
To paraphrase Milton Friedman, there is no free speech. Our thoughts become our actions. Our words are rocks falling into the water of influence. Our obligation is to speak with wisdom.
