Fear is a powerful tool indeed. It is not nearly as powerful, though, as the power of the government to set limitations on freedom. In this country we are bombarded day-to-day with stories and information that could scare a person to death.

Top news stories generally run the shooting/kidnapping/drug overdose theme in front of us because it scares viewers and is good entertainment. Ann Coulter only says things like faggot when referring to John Edwards because it means she gets a check cut at the end of the month.

Anyone with some intelligence (hopefully most people reading this), can differentiate between entertainment and some semblance of an educated argument.

I would agree that there are a lot of bigoted people out there, but limiting their rights is a bad way to address the problem. It is a slippery slope to an Orwellian society; and I dont believe that Im being hyperbolic, either.

People should always be allowed to say what they think, even if it is idiotic, stupid or could be refuted in thirty seconds. Freedom can never go too far; it is questionable that we dont have enough freedom right now as it is.

Lets work more on keeping our freedoms (like the freedom from having the government listen to your phone calls), than trying to restrict them because we dislike how people use them.

The author writes that we should ignore things we disagree with “ but then what are we left with? What he considers hateful (the Edwards comment), may be considered a naughty joke by other people (probably the audience she was speaking to).

My point is that if a person wants to appear wise on an issue, they had better understand all the different viewpoints, even if some of those viewpoints seem trashy.

Be careful deciding what is right and wrong and then saying we should wipe out the wrong because it is all up to interpretation. Lastly, always remember that there can never be too much free speech, only a lack thereof.

Ross Miller

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