Freedom To Offend

I recently received an email from someone who is apparently irritated by all the blustering and fustigation emenating from the obnoxious Right Wing Populists crowds these days, as are we all. Anyway, the message contained a comment to a quote. The comment, some people take this concept to the extreme, was followed by the quote, "What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist",  by the writer Salman Rushdie.

And although I can understand his view on the matter, that of extending free speech to even people who are altogether scruple-less, I also apprehend the urgency for which this valuable attribute of a free society  must stand uncompromised.

So I replied:

Freedom of expression implies that someone somewhere is going to be offended.
The unpopular or controversial instances of expression are the very things that need to be protected; Popular or pedestrian instances of expression are never in danger of censorship.

Censorship of any kind poses the biggest threat to a free society.

Salman Rushdie knows better than anyone the threats from quarters "offended" by another man's views.

As soon as the "offended" make the rules, or decide parameters of what is acceptable, it is only a matter of time before you are the target of their hysterical attacks.

A free society is predicated on freedom of expression. There can be no compromise to this essential egalitarian idiosyncrasy. One compromise leads down a slippery slope

I hesitated to warn him to never speak such heresy again.

Petition to End Unconstitutional National Day of Prayer

Oppose the National Day of Prayer — 
God & Government a Dangerous Mix

Dear Mr. President and Governors of the 50 States:

We, the undersigned, applaud the federal court ruling by Judge Barbara Crabb declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

Our secular nation was founded in part by refugees seeking freedom of conscience and freedom from religious tyranny. They wanted a land where government could not tell them which church to support, what religious rituals to engage in or what to believe or disbelieve. They knew there can be no true religious liberty without the freedom to dissent. Whether to pray, or believe in a god who answers prayer, is an intensely precious and personal decision protected under our First Amendment as a paramount matter of conscience.

Congress, in 1952, abridged that freedom of conscience when it designated a National Day of Prayer: "The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.” (Public Law 82-324)

Rev. Billy Graham asked Congress to declare an annual National Day of Prayer so “the Lord Jesus Christ” would be recognized across the land. Sen. Absalom Robertson, father of Rev. Pat Robertson, introduced the bill to instill "faith in an Almighty God." Influential evangelicals lobbied Congress in 1988 to designate the first Thursday in May as the annual National Day of Prayer so they could better organize prayer events uniting religion and government.

Our founders did not pray when they adopted our Constitution, which shows their intent to separate religion from government. The Constitution's only references to religion are exclusionary. The U.S. President and elected officials have neither the moral nor the constitutional authority to dictate to Americans to pray, much less to tell citizens what to pray about, to set aside an entire day for prayer every year, and to gather with others “to turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

As Judge Crabb ruled, "In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”

Don't let Christian evangelicals hijack our secular Constitution.

SIGN THE PLEDGE 

If you care at all about Freedom and the protection from religion and its dangerous influence as spelled out in our Constitution, then you should fill out this form and send it in. Believers already have the freedom to believe and practice their chosen religion. We also have the right to be free from its influence. Atheists are the biggest minority in this country, its time to start making our views part of the dialogue.