"[My grandfather] did speak about the freedoms he fought for, and [he] taught me to never back down and never let anyone take those freedoms away from you. On April 19, on that stage, I exercised my freedom of speech, and I was punished for doing so. This should not happen in America. It undermines the constitutional rights for which my grandfather fought for."The near-Miss USA isn't alone in promoting a half-baked view of the Bill of Rights. Take what Sarah Palin, the poster child for hopelessly inarticulate ideologues, said last October:
"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."In other words -- and considering the sources here, we need other words -- criticism violates the First Amendment. Way out there on the twisted fringe where Prejean, Palin and their inbred kin reside, free speech is truly free only if it's protected from challenges.
Next thing we know, they'll be telling us that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual citizen's right not to be shot at.
It's not surprising, really, to find bimbos (of both genders) playing in the big political sandbox. It's downright frightening, however, to see just how many Americans are sympathetic to the whining of these two in particular.
Not a majority by any means, but enough to be disconcerting to those of us who use the brains we were born with.
I respect and will defend the right of the former Miss La Jolla and the former Mayor of Wasilla to express their views in the public square. And I will, to be sure, continue to disparage intellectually shallow, ethically bankrupt or just plain idiotic speech with the vigor of an independent citizen-patriot, as is my right.
That, Ms. Prejean, absolutely is what should "happen in America." You insult your grandfather’s service by suggesting otherwise.
See, free speech goes both ways. Fortunately, I'm not alone, either.
