A Left-Wing Extremist and a Right-Wing Extremist In Boston

17 Apr 2013

Headlines you may see:

Headline you won’t see:

I believe this was an act of terrorism. I don’t know that it was of Islamic makings, but the ideology behind the act remains the same. Unless this was simply someone looking for maximum bloodshed, as in the case of Sandy Hook, this was done for attention. The kind of attention that fear and bloodshed brings: an act of terrorism. There’s a message that someone want to send.

I am a firm believer that every individual is endowed by our Creator with a right to life, to liberty, and to pursue their own definition of happiness. It is not the role of government to infringe on these, but to protect them. One of the ways they do this is by protecting the freedom of everyone’s speech. While there are a couple of common sense restrictions, such as not allowing some to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater, generally the government should avoid setting limits, and treat exceptions on a case by case basis. For example, should yelling “Fire!” in the same theater be a crime when there are only six individuals watching the film?

Freedom of speech is the right of every individual in this country, no matter what message they’re carrying. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a left-wing wacko or a right-wing wacko—and yes, both sides have their wackos. It matters not whether the message comes from Evangelical Christians; LGBT organizations; the KKK; climate change deniers; climate change activists; pro-Democrat, pro-Republican, or pro-Tea Party Super PACS; Occupy Wall Street and it’s related movements… It doesn’t matter what their message is, they have the right to say it. And if you’re offended? Too bad. I’m frequently offended, but I’m sure no one would want to hear about it, and quite frankly, I’m not going to burden you with it. What’s more, when I’m offended by someone, I usually don’t want to engage that person in conversation, and I really don’t care to hear any more from them. In other words, I walk away, change the channel, or close the web page.

Yesterday, two bombs were detonated near the finish line of a prestigious marathon in Boston. People died. People were injured. Presumably, the person or group of people responsible for the bombs have a reason for doing so. Maybe not. As I said, it could have been someone just looking to shed innocent blood. It doesn’t matter. The incident it offensive. Unlike, the “damage” resulting from offensive words, people have been deprived of life, certain liberties through the loss of limbs, and certainly property in terms of hospitable bills. And this only accounts for the physical damage; imagine pursuing happiness after this.

In a society that claims to seek justice, while being fair, it only makes sense that the perpetrators should lose certain liberties. One can argue the appropriateness of capital punishment versus life rotting in a prison, but one liberty that we don’t talk about removing is the freedom of speech. It seems to me, that the greatest punishment one could place on an individual obviously trying to get a message across, is to not allow that message to be delivered.

We’re a nation obsessed with “Why?” But, let’s forget about why. Who cares what the motive was? In fact, the motive should be ignored and discounted. It should be irrelevant. Let the facts stand for themselves, prosecute, prove the individual(s) at fault, and punish accordingly.

The media should refuse to print the reason. The American public should refuse to learn it. We need to walk away, change the channel, and close the web page. The people of this country need to band together with a collective attitude that says: “You have murdered and maimed our neighbors and loved ones. No message is worth that price, and we don’t care what you have to say. We will see to it that you take your message to the grave.”

Tagged: Boston terrorism

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