Freedom of Speach vs. Freedom of Thought

Don't we have BOTH Freedom of Speech AND Freedom of Thought here in America today? Well.... Yes, to a degree, but this is more about the HOW TO, the when to exercise these freedoms. And, the one freedom that we DO NOT have, but one that we all need to consider! I have thought about this many times in recent years, and every time, I come away with a sadness, shaking my head, and wondering how we have come to this place. Let me give you some examples of what disturbs me. A van is driving back to a half-way house with clients going back after work. Two young men see a rather attractive young lady on the street, and they begin to say some things between themselves about how great it would be to have sex with her. The driver, hearing this, injects himself into this conversation pointing out that both of the young men are married, and that their conversation about having sex with the woman is equivalent to cheating on their wives. He continues to chastise them, ending with the proclamation that they aren't acting in a Christian way. So what?

The two young men are within their legal right to have the conversation, and the driver was within his right to say what he did. That is the law. But I think that all three parties were WRONG! Here is why. First, the other ten people on the van probably didn't want to hear any of it. But they were subjected to it. The conversation between the two young men was more appropriate for some place private. Second, the driver was trying to inflict his moral standards on the two young men, obviously believing he had the higher moral standards. And finally, religion was brought into the conversation. Maybe one or even both of the two young men were not Christian. That is their right. Yes, this is a "SO WHAT" type of example, but, it is something that is repeated thousands of times every day.

At some point in the past thirty years or so, the first amendment right to free speech has taken precedence over common sense attitudes that have been with us for centuries. "Live and let live" no longer applies here. The idea that people have the right to go about their daily lives without being bothered as long as they don't bother others is as passe as saying good morning to someone you pass on the street. How you make your living, what you do for a hobby, what types of books you read, what foods you like and what music you listen to should be of NO concern to anybody else in this world, as long as you aren't harming them. Likewise, your choice of religion, your choice in politics and your choice of friends and associates are personal, and other people should not involve themselves. But, they do, and they do it more each and every day!

That same first amendment to our constitution gives people the freedom of the press. Which means so much more that just the newspaper, it extends to books, television and radio, and now includes the Internet, thus allowing a hack like myself to write a BLOG like this. This is an immense freedom not enjoyed in many parts of the world. And, it is much more than the right of the press to write about what is happening and to comment on it as they see things. It is most importantly, a personal right allowing YOU to read and listen to what you want. It guarantees you the right to read differing points of view and to make your own decisions about what you want to believe, and what you want to discount. And it doesn't end there.

Also in the first amendment is the right to freedom of religion. Yes, every American has the RIGHT to choose their own religion. And because you choose one different from another, you do NOT have the right to force them to change. Think about this, three of the world's major religions have the "Old Testament" as part of their religious writings, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. And in that book, God states that he has given Man free will. "FREE WILL"! So, not only does the Constitution of the United States guarantee the freedom of religion, your own religious writings guarantee this. So, try to live and let live.

At the beginning of this piece, I mentioned a freedom that we are not guaranteed, but one that I think should be considered. I am not a writer, not a word-smith. I am a simple Old Hippie trying to get along in this world, and I don't know of an eloquent way to state this. Shouldn't we have the right to NOT TO HAVE TO HEAR EVERY ONE'S OPINION ON EVERYTHING! I think so, but I have no idea how you could make this into law, least of all enforce it.

Recently I was at a major retail store, and at the doors were dozens of people from "John 3:16", a Christian religious group, soliciting money and trying to convert everyone they saw. They saw this as doing God's work, but I saw this as harassment. I found them to be insulting and rude, because I didn't agree with them. I was called names, threatened with "Hell" and subjected to ridicule in front of literally hundreds of other customers entering and leaving the store. All of this because I spoke four words, "Sorry, I'm not Christian". My response to this humiliation was simply to walk back to my car and go to the only other grocery store in town. I can only imagine what would have happened had I chose to stand there and argue religion with them, as was my right under the law. I see nothing but ugliness had that been my choice. Very sad. This is only an example of what I am trying to say. I don't want to even think how things might have been had it been an Islamic group doing this, or an Atheist group. I fear that it would have resulted in chaos and riot.

The problem is not with Christians, but with all of the major religions. Islam demands Islamic states, the Jewish demand a Jewish state. And it does not begin and end with religion. Gays and lesbians want everyone to accept them, different races want to have things their way, political groups demand that you vote with them, environmentalists want the world to be as they think it should be, and industrialists want to have things their way. All of them use the right to freedom of speech to assault all of us every day. It is really getting old folks. I am really getting tired of everyone telling me what I should believe, how I should think, who I should associate with and how I need to be as a person to meet their standards. Give it a break!

Live and let live. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness and love have been abandoned in this country. Isn't it time for people to be allowed to live their own lives? Isn't it time for people to come to the realization that we are all individuals? As I said, I have thought about this many times, and I have not found many answers, but I have found one. One answer. I believe that I understand why someone would choose the life of a hermit. Maybe Helen Keller was luckier than I thought?

Have A Great Day,
The Old Hippie