Free Speech...where do you draw the line?

If you've been on twitter today, or uh...anywhere... you've heard about the pro-pedophilia book being sold on Amazon.com.

There's lots of arguing about whether or not this should be covered under First Amendment rights.

The First Amendment is: "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."

In no way, shape, or form do I endorse, support, or believe in this book. I am horrified that someone has the type of mind to sit down and honestly write out thoughts such as these.


However...that being said...

The author, Phillip R. Greaves II, is well within his legal right to write and publish this book. Although it is ''wrong'' in our eyes, he is well within his Free Speech rights to write this book. Should he be able to? Of course he should. Once again, I do not support this book. But if we start silencing some voices in what we believe is ''wrong'', where do we end? What happens when people who don't like or believe in democrats, want my blog silenced...because it is ''wrong''. There is just too much gray area to distinguish between what is wrong and not. Free Speech includes wrong and illegal things. There's plenty of articles about cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the likes of it. Those are illegal, they are ''wrong'' in many peoples eyes...yet they're still there. There's even books sold on these topics on Amazon.com.

Have you ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church? They picket...yes, picket....American soldiers funerals with graphic, hateful signs. They picket the same people who are fighting for us to keep the right to allow them to do this. This is unspeakably horrible to those families who are hurting and suffering. What it comes down to though...it is well within their First Amendment Free Speech rights to get out there and picket whatever they want with whatever signs they want. Yes, we believe this is ''wrong''. They...do not.

In the USA, we have free speech. And although there are times, where this may come to ''bite us in the bottom'' (so to speak) in these two above instances...Thank God we have it. Can you imagine having to say what the government wants you to? Not being able to voice your opinions for what you wholeheartedly believe in? Yes, the book and the people protesting are horrible. Yes, I believe that they are wrong. But I believe they have the right to be exactly where they are.

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