"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Bill of Rights/US Constitution.
I have heard for a couple of years now how "our founding Fathers" through their rumored flawless actions have given us freedom for just about everything, unless of course it is someone with whom we do not agree. Take for instance "the" Mosque in New York City, which several months ago just about everybody had an opinion on. It's conception had been in the pipeline for years, but never mind that detail we are panicked. It may have been a tad insensitive, and the timing of it was purely intentional...by the media who brought it to our attention. Suffice to say, otherwise it would have been just an extension of the Mosque that was already in the neighborhood and freedom of religion we are all guaranteed would have prevailed unnoticed.
In reading the First Amendment regarding freedom of press and speech, I have noticed one thing they seemed to have left out, and that is the right to, in a pinch, fib. Not always little fibs, but really harsh punches thrown helter skelter and at whomever we see fit. Some of the punches hurled about are a downright insult to our intelligence, but they persist like the plague, eating away at our most precious document and tainting our minds. The guarantee of free speech does not ensure that the info is correct. Personally, if you ask me, the ones who yell the loudest about what our Constitution "guarantees" are the very ones who twist it at will to read how they need it to read.
Journalism for much of our existence as a country has represented itself pretty fairly. That is not to say that nearly every newspaper or broadcast does have at least some slant politically, but by and large journalists have always played pretty fair, until recently that is. Controlled not by big business but huge conglomerates, broadcasting has run afoul of reasonable conjecture or reporting of facts. For the more stealth the ease of hiding behind the veil on the web has provided a leverage never dreamed of. Fooling folks through email forwards that seem to come from knowledgeable friends, the pawn masters climb into our brains and amazingly false information seems to make perfect sense. The old adage I grew up around; "Don't believe everything you read" has taken a back seat to sensationalism and one upance and mind bending slant.
Some of the best lies and the worst journalism have come at the hands of and are fathered by the very wealthy who can just about control every aspect of their lives and ours through the media. Mega millionaires who do not just give to political causes, but slander anyone with a varying opinion to ensure they win in the game of greed. They have planted seeds of doubt regarding anyone with opposing views, calculating correctly that we will forget that opposing view is exactly what makes a democracy work. Without differences at the helm, we have monarchy or dictatorship. It should be humorous that they can tell such tall tales and make them stick, but I am not laughing for it is tearing this country apart. Legislators that have gotten caught in the game of he said, she said cannot get out so they enlarge the story to make themselves credible and when that doesn't work they tear at the very fabric of democracy.
Media companies are often owned by folks with an ambitious agenda and their mission is to discredit anyone who might get in the way of the goal. In order to continue business as usual and make their audience feel as though they are on a "team" they bash other media outlets so ensure that their listeners stay tuned to them. They are buying voices who do not necessarily speak the whole truth, because there are huge contracts for staying the course, and that course is to win. Hang onto the tail of a strong swimming horse.
Speaking of staying the course and fib for fame, I have about had it with the whole "birther" deal. What is it that makes someone even think that a Presidential candidate is not scrutinized right down to what type underwear he or she wears, not to mention that one of the few prerequisites for a Presidential bid is to be natural born. This is America, the land of the FBI, CIA, Secret Service and Military intelligence that can see a gnat on a senators ass from space; what are people thinking? Are we really that gullible? That "birther" deal is so over done that candidates are pronouncing their credibility to the far right audience by bringing it up with suspicion on their forked tongues. Do people really intend on voting for these guys? The only thing that nearly equals that ludicrous claim is that Obama is an "elitist". Really? He grows up middle class, puts himself through college, pays off his student loan, not with trust money but with his income from the degree he worked hard for and he is an elitist? Gong!
Media companies are often owned by folks with an ambitious agenda and their mission is to discredit anyone who might get in the way of the goal. In order to continue business as usual and make their audience feel as though they are on a "team" they bash other media outlets so ensure that their listeners stay tuned to them. They are buying voices who do not necessarily speak the whole truth, because there are huge contracts for staying the course, and that course is to win. Hang onto the tail of a strong swimming horse.
Speaking of staying the course and fib for fame, I have about had it with the whole "birther" deal. What is it that makes someone even think that a Presidential candidate is not scrutinized right down to what type underwear he or she wears, not to mention that one of the few prerequisites for a Presidential bid is to be natural born. This is America, the land of the FBI, CIA, Secret Service and Military intelligence that can see a gnat on a senators ass from space; what are people thinking? Are we really that gullible? That "birther" deal is so over done that candidates are pronouncing their credibility to the far right audience by bringing it up with suspicion on their forked tongues. Do people really intend on voting for these guys? The only thing that nearly equals that ludicrous claim is that Obama is an "elitist". Really? He grows up middle class, puts himself through college, pays off his student loan, not with trust money but with his income from the degree he worked hard for and he is an elitist? Gong!
I asked a good friend of mine who is particularly gullible if she really believed all the crap she was forwarding via email about the health care bill, and she replied, "Yes I do because I have heard this too many times!" In other words, she was an easy target for the insurance companies to plant the seeds of doubt ensuring them a few more disgruntled Americans whom they could count on to leave them running this country. Even after I sent her the link to www.thomas.gov so that she could actually read the summary of the bill for herself she still professed that there was gun legislation in it, granny firing squads and it was unequivocally socialist.
Differences of opinion are healthy. They keep us strong no different than the lion keeping the elk herd in line by culling the weak; thoughtful discussion combs out the weak points in a bill and helps to produce a piece of legislation that can survive the test of time. What we are seeing in this country now however, are folks forming opinions based upon what emails they got today totally unaware of where they originated and failing to check them out. Freedom of speech does not mean the speakers tongue is not forked.
By and large things can be checked out in ten minutes or less on the Internet. You do have to pay some attention to the web address of a given site so that you do not leave one falsehood for another, but it is pretty easy to verify content. If you do not have the time to do that then change your sources so that you at least have a better chance of correct information. There are old fashioned newspapers and credible online sites where you can get news shorts from around the world.
The Thomas site has a list of every bill presented and it's status, who sponsored it and when. It is a wealth of information for the voting public. I have seen email forwards that tried to tell me that they were coming to get my guns and that there was a bill that was being presented "right now!" A quick look at Thomas told me there indeed was a bill of similar nature, the only thing was it had been sitting there for 6 years with only one senator sponsoring it and no co-sponsors. Gong!
The best thing we can do to ensure our freedom of speech is to challenge the speakers. Hold them to a standard by not buying into every line you hear. Question the information for it keeps us strong like the elk. Oh yeah, and don't believe everything you hear.
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