So, what do you think? Do you think YOU as an individual support free speech? Do you have racism thoughts? Do you have an opinion that is yours because you've researched something or was your opinion given to you by a parent or colleague?
I got to thinking about this today when I received a response to an email that was sent out by a family member. The email basically proclaims that 86% of American's are christian's and therefore we should be allowed to have "In God We trust" on money and say the pledge of
Allegiance. Then it says, that we should tell the other 14% to shut up about it.
The response I received (because I was on the thread) said that 100% of American's believe in freedom of speech and that we should practice and respect that instead of telling everyone to shut up.
Is 86% of the United States really Christian? That seems extraordinarily high. But maybe.
What I don't get is, who really cares? I'm a spiritual person. Lutheran by baptism, but not a practicing religious person (aka I don't attend church). But I don't think that this is such a big deal about saying the pledge or whether our money says In God We Trust.
The very basis of the United States is that we are a melting pot. We "accept" all cultures and embrace the differences. At least that's what I was taught. But more and more I see so much intolerance for people of different races, religions, political beliefs etc. And I have to admit, I'm as guilty as the next person sometimes with regards to thinking things about certain races that I probably shouldn't think.
I spent a lot of time outside this country. And in situations where, as an American, we weren't exactly treated greatly. And I think by spending so much time in other cultures (Saudi ARabia, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, etc) that there's a certain amount of understanding for other cultures. I like the idea of a multicultural environment. It opens your eyes to other aspects and lifestyles, etc.
With all that being said, I get frustrated about some cultures like a lot of people to. I make rash judgments about a group based on a few bad apples. But I could never imagine myself doing something against the other group just because they are different from me.
I'm not sure how I got on racism when I was talking about free speech, but just pretend I'm a politician ... and I'm talking in circles.
If you've not seen the movie Crash, I highly recommend it. It has some very eye opening situations in it that makes you stop and think about how you, and an american, or as a person who might be white, or who might be rich, etc react to situations.
1 comments:
The idea behind "free speech" is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. (The majority is protected by the ballot box.) One thing we seem to have forgotten in this country is that the first amendment is there because a contrary opinion can be a healthy thing; it's what keeps us from lining up and helps us (if only a little) remain individuals.
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