Free speech

There was a number of stories on O'Reily this evening regarding free speech (O'Reily was out and John Gibson was filling in--very refreshing). One story pertained to Ward Churchill, the professor at the Universtiy of Colorado who received much criticism for some comments he made regarding 9/11. I have not read the essay in question. I have just heard exerpts. He wasn't on the program, but some of his students were there to defend him. They felt the professor ought to be able to speak his mind. They thought it would be wrong for the school to dismiss him.

Another story dealt with a police officer in Denver (what's up with my beloved home state?) who told a woman she had to remove her obsene bumper sticker. This corresponded to a situation in Oregon where an Oregon State employee had to remove a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker. The First Amendment Attorney who was talking about the two bumper stickers said, in reference to the Oregon State event, the state has a right to set their own rules. He is absolutely right.

There is a major difference between the government restricting speech, and a private organization restricting speech. Private organizations can restrict almost anything they want. If you visit Cedar Point (the amusement park) in Ohio , you will be escorted out of the park if you are using lewd language. This is their right. The University of Colorado has every right to fire this quack if he is using "language" that may be deemed anti-American. True, CU is a state university, but they still have a right to determine what their employees can and cannot do. The First Amendment original purpose was to keep the central government from prohibiting a person to speak their opinion. It was never intended to apply to private organizations. I grow tired of people applying the First Amendment to businesses and schools and such.

Futhermore, there is a major difference between expressing your opinions and expressing your lewd thoughts. The latter is protected by the First. Our Founding Fathers wanted people to be able to express their disagreement and discontent with the government without fear of reprisal. Any one who has read anything about our Founding Fathers cannot honestly say they intended the First to apply to vulgar and obsene language. Too few people in our country understand what the freedom of speech actually means, and that is a shame.