Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
These freedoms are exceedingly important and should never EVER be taken for granted. Sadly, some people use them for their own gain/agenda and get away with it. Where can you draw a line?
A good example I heard used freedom of religion - you have the right to practice whatever religion you want, right up till you infringe on someone else's rights. So human sacrifice is out.
The impetus for this being about freedom of speech, specifically, is this fiasco with the Westboro Baptist "Church", who I am NOT going to link to. Wanna know how hateful they are? Go find them yourself. I'm sure it isn't difficult.
Don't know what I'm talking about? They "protested" at the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq. His name was Matthew Snyder and he was 20 years old. They followed all the rules, stayed however far away they are supposed to, didn't approach anyone, etc. In advance, though, they alerted tons of media and the local law with a letter showing the soldier's pic above a pic of a military coffin and the statement "Burial of an ass". At the funeral itself they held signs saying horrible things. It is far from the only one.
I'm relatively sure I'm preaching to the choir here.
This was in 2006. Matthew's father sued the "Church" for emotional distress and harassment and won...for a minute. A court of appeals not only overturned that decision, but promptly ordered Mr. Snyder to pay court costs. He has taken it to the Supreme Court, where they heard oral arguments this past Wednesday.
So where does freedom of speech become harassment? Where can the courts say "No, this is wrong and all you're doing is being hateful"?
I almost feel bad for Fred Phelps, having to live in his own head with all this insanity, and then I think of all the people he has tried to hurt and suddenly I just kind of want him to go away. Or have an epiphany of "My goodness, I surely have been an ass, haven't I?"
He seems to be missing some essential elements. Compassion. Empathy. Plus most of America thinks he's a nutjob. Me included. How can someone be so hateful in the name of God?
There is a website with all the info regarding this case.
The Westboro Baptist Church is just about as far away from the actual teachings of Christ as one can get. Furthermore, I think that Fred Phelps is the ultimate attention whore. His behavior and that of his flock of evil "sheep" is utterly unconscionable and uncivil; I hope the Supreme Court does the right thing and overturns the appeals court decision.
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