On September 24th, I wrote about free speech.
The First Amendment is as it should be in a democracy but my argument was and still is, that it was meant to one's right to express an opinion, not to slander, endanger, or be deceitful to negative result to others. At least that is my belief. Since we clearly could not find the man who published that YouTube on Mohammed that those who have seen it find disgusting and disgraceful,
However, I argued that there should be judgment used. BBC ran an article today that the man who made that film (while he could not be held responsible under his right to free speech) might well raise questions about his judgment. He is being held for violation of probation. What he produced for YouTube was not illegal but a violation of his probation; was not a wise choice on his part and he is not being permitted to leave the country to hide, His picture has been posted publicly, and he is being targeted with a wealthy Pakistani man who put up $100,000 bounty for his death.
My argument continues. Regardless of our right to insult people freely, we must be aware that the consequences may be unpredictable and rather dangerous to the insulter. This should be taught to children from a very young age. Their actions do have consequences, and label them as a result. If they steal they will remain thieves or untrustworthy in the eyes of many. If they are verbal bullies, they may find themselves ganged up on in the school yard or the sports field. Without these experiences and realization of results of our actions, we will never be socialized or fit into our society as we currently define it.
The First Amendment is as it should be in a democracy but my argument was and still is, that it was meant to one's right to express an opinion, not to slander, endanger, or be deceitful to negative result to others. At least that is my belief. Since we clearly could not find the man who published that YouTube on Mohammed that those who have seen it find disgusting and disgraceful,
My argument continues. Regardless of our right to insult people freely, we must be aware that the consequences may be unpredictable and rather dangerous to the insulter. This should be taught to children from a very young age. Their actions do have consequences, and label them as a result. If they steal they will remain thieves or untrustworthy in the eyes of many. If they are verbal bullies, they may find themselves ganged up on in the school yard or the sports field. Without these experiences and realization of results of our actions, we will never be socialized or fit into our society as we currently define it.
No comments:
Post a Comment