I was told not to post this sort of thing in a thread where it was off-topic, so I'm making a thread where it is on-topic, which uninterested parties may easily ignore. Hopefully that's good enough. I may not exactly be an Inspiring Presence on these boards, but I still feel that it is important for me to wave my little flag and remind people of what this country stands for.
Free speech is not just a random phrase in the Bill of Rights; it is one of the cornerstones of this entire country. In pretty much all of global history, I can't think of another nation besides America which has ever claimed that freedom is the most important virtue - above peace, above security, above prosperity or tradition or service to God. I'm not always entirely inclined to agree; a lot of people use their freedoms in ways I don't approve of, and I fully understand the temptation to use any power one has to try and silence those disagreeable acts. But I believe there are some things that are worth the risk of suffering for a bit, and so I continue to live in a country which I know is not ever going to entirely align with my beliefs, in the hopes that at least this one country, out of all of them in the world, will always protect my right to disagree with it. (Well, the "always" might be a bit naive at this point, but I'm still hopeful.)
I wouldn't be beating this particular drum if I didn't think it was important. Seems to me, a few hundred years ago, there were people who thought it was worth killing their neighbors over. Nobody seems to have that level of conviction anymore, or if they do, they're considered a psychopath. I don't believe that violence is ever the answer, but I DO believe that a level of commitment which doesn't SHY AWAY from possible violence is. I'm trying to find a way of displaying that commitment which doesn't amount to violence, but passive resistance doesn't always work, and it's very easy for tempers to get short and frayed when patient, reasonable action has such a poor track record of getting results.
Every other country in the world seems to eagerly accept the rights of authority to impose order on the populace, suppressing anyone who disturbs the social fabric. I say, let every other country in the world continue to live that way, and let everyone who wants such a society go live in those countries. America was founded in the name of liberty; we are a radical state, and we always have been, from the moment we first started dumping tea in a harbor to protest the taxes upon it. I think that we owe it not only to ourselves, but also to the world to continue upholding that one principle, at any cost, just so that it has a representation in the world community. Otherwise, where will the rebels and malcontents live, if no country is willing to have them? I believe we are a haven for free-thinkers, visionaries, and bold adventurers, and that the world needs a few of those.
We need the ability to say anything it occurs to us to say, and do damn near anything it occurs to us to do. Without that enterprising, damn-the-torpedoes spirit, our world would be a smaller place; certain frontiers and horizons would be locked away behind people's timidity, their fear of rocking the social boat, and we'd never experience some of the miraculous possibilities that our world holds. For centuries, America has been the world leader in invention and discovery, and I firmly believe it was our cherishing of freedom, to speak and think and usually to act, above all other virtues which made that possible. That is why I take the strongest possible objection to any and all restrictions on free expression. I am perfectly happy to let someone insult me to my face, if there is any chance that their words might somehow be useful to themselves or to me. And I believe everyone should share my attitude in that regard. A bruised ego is a small price to pay for a wider worldview, in which all things are possible.
Well, I obeyed (very much NOT "respected") the Mod's directions not to continue posting such things in that thread. While I take strong issue with his tone on the subject, I do agree with the need to keep topics pure, particularly for something that's close to deserving sticky status. Were I in the Mod's position, I would simply have split and merged topics as necessary in order to get every thread straightened out, but apparently not everyone shares my values in that regard, and well they are the ones getting paid for it, so I can sort of grudgingly accept that they have the right (even if I think they abuse it). But regardless, if I had posted in the thread, and the thread had been locked, that would NOT have been my fault; it would have been the mods' decision that their rules are more important than either my feelings OR yours, and I don't agree with that at all. (Naturally I consider my own feelings more important than yours, but I consider my principles more important than both, and might even rank your principles above my feelings, depending on how compatible they are with mine.)
If the mods decide that they have to lock or delete this thread, I won't be happy, but I'll understand. I've said what I needed to say, and I accept the consequences of that impulse within myself. I just hope that there is some possibility that my words will touch at least one person who reads this before it disappears, that someone who might have been on the fence about whether freedom is really that important might, just possibly, be swayed by my passionate defense of the subject.
EDIT - Replacing "american" in my original thread title with "human"; I really wasn't trying to be jingoistic. The national-idealism issues are still there, so I'm not changing the body of the text at all, but hopefully the thread retitling will make it a bit less impolite to overseas readers when the thread appears in their feeds, even if they don't choose to read it.
