Our 15 minutes is finally over. Actually I think we managed to milk another 30 or so with the little lunch everyone threw for us upon our return. Thanks again guys. We're still reeling from everyone's genorosity and good will. It's certainly helped soften the blow of having to resume reality. Getting to curl up with my wife every night hasn't hurt either. If that last little sentiment was too sweet for you, just keep reading. The espresso's next.
As successful as I've been at avoiding political discussions on here of late, I'm afraid I'm going to have to bring the streak to a crashing halt due to a couple of statements I heard this week that have really stuck in my craw. The first, while stated in jest, still compels me to comment. "Who needs freedom of speech when you have free healthcare?" Later someone responded, with more sincerity, "I'd be happy with at least one of those right now." Now I'm not going to address the assertion that we have no freedom of speech in this country. I don't think it's debateable. We have it. No, we don't have freedom to speak without the possibility of consequences. Nor do we have the right to be heard--except maybe when Unlce Kasim calls from Yemen on the NSA party line. Could it be better? I wouldn't know. We've got it as good or better than it's ever been in the course of human history, so please spare me the hysterical parallels of the Bush administered U.S. with fascist regimes. Ironically the only people I ever hear talking about fascism and tyranny are those who are free to. Those who actually live under oppression can't. Well crap. I went and addressed it anyway.
But back to healthcare vs. speech--let's say, for argument's sake, that we only had our choice between free healthcare and free speech. Which would people choose? I know I'd choose free speech, but then I'm healthy save for a slight paunch that seems to be growing about my midsection. But there is ample evidence to suggest that thousands, possibly millions of people besides myself would rather have free speech than free healthcare. I'm betting 100% of Cubans who braved shark infested waters in row boats to escape to Florida prefer free speech to free healthcare. Likewise I'd bet good money that 100% of the people who were shot or captured trying to get over the Berlin Wall prefered free speech to free healthcare. And the list goes on; Soviet defectors, Chinese immigrants (actually China is switching to a more market based healthcare system now), and North Korean peasants. Unfortunately nearly all of that last group can't be reached for comment at the moment, so I don't know for sure. Of course if anecdotal evidence from some who have escaped Kim Jong Il's healthcare utopia is true, seeking medical treatment in North Korea could land you in an observation chamber at a nearby chemical weapons testing facility.
The other burr in my saddle comes courtesy of Judy Barr Topinka. For those who may not know, Ms. Topinka (IL's Republican State Treasurer) is seeking her party's nomination for governor. In response to the charge that she's too much of an insider to have the people's good at heart she replied, "Who would you rather have inside the governor's mansion? You wouldn't take your car to be fixed by a plumber? Why wouldn't you hire someone who knows the ropes of government?" Admittedly this is paraphrased but the gist was that she was qualified precisely because she was an insider.
First of all, I'm sick of hearing the mechanic analogy. I've heard more than one politician besides Ms. Topinka use it whenever term limits are brought up. But, what really bugs me is the notion that somehow a politician's primary job is to be in touch with the machiavellian world of political process than it is to be in touch with the process of life out here. No Judy, I don't want someone who's been assimilated into the political machine. I would very much prefer to have a governor or congressman that has spent the last 10 years or more of their life trying to make ends meet like me and who still has a memory of what it's like to be subject to the laws and regulations that insiders foist on the rest of us. I would very much prefer all congress people to be neophytes that haven't figured out how to "work" the system and still suffer from the naive notion that the poeple who elected them are their primary business. You see Judy, nearly all mechanics still drive cars, that's why I trust them. You haven't been a citizen for decades.
And that's all I have to say about that. I will be posting links to more pics from the trip very soon. I just need to do some doctorin' on them and they'll be ready. Stand by.
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7 comments:
I would settle for a governor who, for once, has the entire state of Illinois in his/her best interests and not just Cook County.
Here, here.
You mean there's more to the state than Chicago? Hmmm....until 6 years ago I had no idea. :-)
Until i can see a major party's national convention held without "free speech zones", or until i can protest at my own campus without having to do so in a "free speech zone", i'm gonna consider the idea of "free speech" in a grey area. we've got people's patriotism called into question in public (howard dean) when they criticize the president. we've got the mouthpiece of the president warning us that "people need to watch what they say nowadays".what's the difference between "free speech" (which we're supposed to have) and "free speech without consequences" (which we're not supposed to have)? the consequences were what restricted the speech. just because said consequences aren't death or disappearance doesn't mean that they're not eroding or don't need looking out for.
anyway, LD, didn't mean to be snarky about it, but it wasn't just meaningless bashing. i've seen this stuff in my own town, and it bothers me.
also, i watched the republican governor's candidate debate the other night. the only one that didn't come across as a total scumbag was jim oberweis. even he was kinda...ehhhh...
trust me, i'd vote for a republican in a second if i thought he or she was the better candidate. Rod's left a bad taste in my mouth. all i got was a group of people trashing the current state gov for corruption like the previous guy wasn't on trial right now.
i'm writing in an LD/McKee ticket this year. who's with me?
I don't think you can have free speech free of the consequences of using it. People are going to react to what you say. Government is going to react to what you say. Even if that reaction is "be careful what you say", as long as they don't make you be careful of what you say, they're free to say so.
And what's wrong with free speech zones at a convention? Part of the freedom of assembly is the freedom to assemble without some hippie jackass crashing your party and shouting in everyone's faces so he can make the 6 o'clock news. Like it or not, political conventions are as much a private gathering as Halo night at my brother's. They just have better PR. Besides, free speech zones are usually where they belong in these instances--on public property. They also make it easier for the media to find exactly where the dissenters are. And from all the conventions I've watched, they usually do find them no matter how small their numbers.
Just as free enterprise without regulation is bad for the environment, so I think free speech without any regulation or framework would be bad for public discourse. Without it all you would have is a caucophony of voices where anything is said and nothing is heard, kind of like a Springer show. If speech is the only thing sacred, everything else suffers, especially the freedom not to have to listen if I don't want to.
Now when government starts taking proactive measures to limit free speech (like say McCain-Feingold) and reactive measures (like IRS audits) then I start getting riled. If I felt like I was getting a shortage of opinion, and anti-government films weren't constantly getting nominated and winning academy awards, and people started getting pulled over for the bumper stickers on their cars, and Cindy Sheehan wasn't on my TV every five minutes, then maybe I'd start to feel a little closed in. Until then, I'm going to feel pretty good about the state of things as they are.
By the way, McKee and I will be adding crappy movie preservation to NEA funding should we get elected. There would also be a Roger Corman memorial on the Mall in Washington.
Oh, and I never find you snarky, Tolemite. Kinda fuzzy with your shirt off maybe, but never snarky. Brt.
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