Some Things Are Better Left Said

     The First Amendment gives all Americans the guarantee that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". We all know this. The term "free speech" is thrown around all the time. But what does it really mean to us? Do we really want free speech for everyone?

     I've been thinking about this a lot for the past week, since Comcast bought MSNBC and Keith Olbermann was fired. It really isn't difficult to imagine what could happen when a conservative company takes over a liberal one, but I was surprised to see Keith go. His was the network's highest rated show. There are, of course, countless rumors going around about why he was fired, none of which I'm even going to repeat. Keith can tell us himself in six months, when he's allowed to talk about it.

Shh... You can't say that!

     I've tried my best to give Comcast the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want to believe that they were censoring him. I didn't want to believe that they would drop his show just because they didn't like what he had to say, or the way that he presented it. And I can't prove that that was the case, but I can't help but wonder.

     A few days later, they told Ed Schultz, host of MSNBC's 'Ed Schultz Show', that he had to get rid of one of the segments that he does regularly on his show. The segment was called "Psycho Talk", and in it Ed pointed out things that politicians or other important people had said that, to him, sounded ridiculous or offensive or, well, psycho.

     I should probably point out that I'm not an Ed Schultz fan. At all. He's too over-the-top for my tastes (shocking, right?). He's too angry, too indignant and shouty (yes, 'shouty'). Regardless, I feel like forcing him to drop this particular segment is a violation of his First Amendment rights. I feel the same way about the decision to fire Keith Olbermann. 

     Now, let me answer the question before you even ask it: No, it is not just because Keith and Ed and I share the same political views. Yes, I would feel the same way if it were someone on the Right.

     For example - Rush Limbaugh. I can't stand him. I think he's disgusting and offensive and a bigot (I can say all of that because of Freedom of Speech!). I will not listen to his show, and yes, I do wish that no one else wanted to listen either. I do not, however, think that people should be restricted from listening. I do not think that even he should be censored. 

     People have the right to listen to and watch whatever they want, just like people have the right to say whatever they want, regardless of how much it bothers someone else. It's infuriating sometimes, but that's America. We have the right to have different opinions, and the right to talk about them and argue about them. That's what makes us great. That's what makes us free.

 

I Call Bullsh*t

((Posted this on Michelle's blog the other day. http://mikes-et-al.blogspot.com/   Just figured I'd re-post it here.))

I decided today that I would give myself a little treat. I gave myself an hour to get away from the ten thousand things I have on my to-do list. Probably not the most responsible decision I’ve made, but hey, sometimes you just need time to breathe. So I spent a chunk of my afternoon with a veggie burger and my very own personal guru. Lunches with said guru usually become one of three things: Let’s talk politics and policy, Let’s talk goals and dreams, or Let’s talk about you and your present issues (however big or small they may be). Today was a combo-platter…item one, followed by two and three. Once we got the State of the Union out of the way, we moved on to figuring out how my present issues are stopping me from reaching my goals. And by that I mean that I spent an hour with a veggie burger and my guru calling me on ALL of my shit.

Doesn’t sound like a treat? Well, somehow, it always actually is. It’s not like anything that she says to me is something that I haven’t already said to myself, so it’s never a shock to hear. But it’s always interesting to talk to her, because she gets me. Like, really GETS me. Sometimes I think she may actually be in my head somehow. Creepy. Anyway, she told me today that I’m a talker. Not in terms of, “Hey, you never shut up”, but rather that I talk a big game, but never follow through. True. She said that I talk that game in order to keep myself from having to feel anything; thought before emotion. True. And she said that I also do it to keep myself from ever having to actually commit to something. Also true.

So what does that all mean then? Well, Guru set forth a challenge for me, and I’m going to pass it on to you. I am supposed to catch myself every time I’m “talking my game”, every time I’m planning in order to avoid doing, every time I’m lying to myself. I suppose everyone has something that happens in his or her head that he should try to catch himself doing, whether it’s being unjustly critical of someone, unjustly critical of himself, making himself into the victim/martyr, or maybe blaming himself for things that are not his fault. Try to catch yourself. It’s actually pretty amazing how often we do this kind of stuff to ourselves. It’s also amazing how much space you’ll have in your head if you catch it and stop it.

There's your challenge. Try it for a week. Also, please feel free to call bullshit on me anytime. Really. C'mon, you know you want to...

                                                           

This is what my sweet, 

loving kitten thinks of bullshit.

Here we go...

So, I finally broke down and set up one of these new-fangled blog thingies. I blame my roommate. I really just want to be super cool like her. :-) So, a blog it is. We'll see how often I get around to it, but stay tuned. I'm sure I'll say something ridiculous eventually. It'll be fun!