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.