Freedom of Speech Non-Attack

When you think of buzzwords and phrases that can get people riled up, one of the strongest is "political correctness." Basically, to the anti-PC people, when you call them out on, let's say, a racist joke, they inevitably start calling you, "the PC police" and whine about their freedom of speech being trampled on. In fact, the anti-PC backlash has gotten so bad that in a recent poll, 89% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats believe that the so-called "PC culture" has gone too far. 

But I think what's really been misunderstood here is what free speech is. Free speech simply means that the government cannot come and arrest you for telling a racist joke. It does not mean you get to run up to every black person you see and call them the N-word without consequence. Even some famous "liberals" like Bill Maher and George Carlin, have done rants about the evil. fascist PC police. But what they're really saying is, "Wahh! I can't use these slurs anymore, you actually want to be respected?" Far from being "edgy" and cool, they're simply, to me, showing signs of Old White Guy Syndrome: I'm-too-lazy-to-change -my-speech-now.

 Let me say it: I know that if you're a comedian, everything you say can offend somebody, and if you tried to tailor everything you said to avoid that or make somebody feel good, there would be no comedy. But me telling you not to call me a cripple is not the same as the thought police breaking down your door and taking you to a reeducation camp. Just like you have freedom of speech, I have freedom of speech to say that's offensive, because we both live in America.

Chris Christie Big Government Hypocrisy

Recently, in a restaurant in Iowa, Chris Christie was addressing his supporters, when a young boy stood up and said, "I liked my school food when Mrs. Bush was first lady.But now that Mrs. Obama is first lady, the food's disgusting." To which Governor Christie responded, "I think is the parents rights to decide what their kids eat, not government bureaucrats." He forgot for a moment that he vowed to re criminalize marijuana in all fifty states. Frankly, I'm amazed that there are still people out there that believe the Republicans are the small government party. They are anything but. They're the party that wants to decide marriage rights, and womens' rights. And they are the types take away medicine from sick children because it happens to come from a plant they consider dangerous. The Republican party is many things, but small government, they ain't.

Why I Am Against Strong Gun Control

On most issues, I guess you could consider me a progressive. But that doesn't mean that I don't see areas where traditionally progressive ideas are flawed, particularly on the issue of gun control.

I see the fight for gun control as pretty much the modern day equivalent of the Temperance Movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which eventually led to prohibition.

If you look at the arguments for gun control and prohibition, you'll see that they are very similar. Not only this, but it seems to me that the types of people who advocate for strict gun control are very similar to old time temperance supporters. They are people who claim that one single issue is responsible for America's problems. Replace the scourge of alcohol with the scourge of guns. In fact, if you go back and read the literature the Women's Christian Temperance Union, you will find that their arguments are very similar. They claim that domestic violence and abuse is almost completely due to men's immoral consumption of alcohol. Ignoring economic disparity, lack of education, and the virtual non existence of domestic abuse shelters.

Similarly the gun control movement seems to do the same thing while ignoring things like mental health and media influence. I think that when a young boy keeps hearing the names Dylan Klebold and and Eric Harris, he might think "hey, those guys are famous, maybe I can be famous too".

Look, I'm not saying that guns play no role in gun violence, of course they do. I'm saying that simply banning guns, just like banning alcohol, would have terrible unintended consequences. After all, banning alcohol had no effect in stopping people from drinking (in fact. it had the opposite effect), and led to a huge expansion of organized crime.

The issue is not guns in my opinion, the issue is mental health and the media's endless sensationalism in it's coverage of shootings.