Free Speech Slipping Away

Here in the good old U. S of A too many people feel that the “War on Terrorism” is not of real concern. No matter how you feel about the war take a moment and consider the importance of FREE SPEECH.

I believe all Americans are proud of our freedom. I think it is reasonable to state that “Free Speech” is at the heart of our freedom. If we were to lose the right to Free Speech we would be losing this cherished freedom.

There are current events that are leaning toward limiting our free speech. At this point some people will pooh – pooh such comments. After reading this article decide if the threat could be real.

What? You say. Free speech cannot be in jeopardy in a democracy. That is exactly what is happening in the Netherlands. A Member of Parliament, Geert Wilders, is on trial for blasphemy, after exercising his free speech. He is charged with incitement and discrimination against Muslims. He produced a video “Fitna” that presented Islam in a negative light by presenting passages copied from the Quran.
In February 2008, the newspaper “De Telegraaf” reported that an affiliate of Al-Qaeda had given orders for the assassination of MP Geert Wilders He must be 'slaughtered' because he has insulted Islam and the prophet Mohammed even though his quotes are from the Quran.
You say the Wilder situation is highly unusual. On September 20, 2009 “dailymail.com” reported that a Muslim woman complained to police that she had been offended by comments made by Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, Christian hotel owners in England. The Vogelenzang have been charged under public order laws with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ that were ‘religiously aggravated’.
You say not in America? Think again a man in St. Cloud, Minnesota will have a court hearing for posting insulting cartoons of Mohammad. However Stearns County Attorney, Janelle Kendall, and Benton County Attorney, Robert Raupp, in separate letters to St. Cloud City Attorney, Jan Petersen, said the cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad having sex with animals represented protected speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Since 1999 Pakistan and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (56 Islamic states) sponsored an anti-blasphemy resolution at the United Nations. When the resolution was amended to include other religions in addition to Islam a non-binding version was approved, by the UN Human Rights Council.

If you have the slightest desire to retain free speech in the good old US of A listen to (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji-qdC5zYd4 ) CNN’s Lou Dobbs presentation about the UN’s pending action on passing a binding resolution on all member countries, including the USA, to combat defamation of religion.
On October 19, 2009 “World Net Daily” reported that a proposal sponsored by our White House administration and Egypt submitted as a resolution at the United Nations that purports to seek protection for "freedom of opinion and expression." Actually it is a call for a worldwide crackdown of freedom of speech and a mandate for nations to ensure "that relevant national legislation complies with international human rights obligations" – a clear threat to the first amendment, according to critics.
The resolution was approved by the U.N. Human Rights Council as a first step in its process through the international organization. It demands that all nations condemn and criminalize "any advocasy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence."
How on earth could our government agree with, no less sponsor a resolution that could take away our freedom of speech? “Incitement” and “hatred” are in the eye of the beholder. Imagine being put on trial by our Federal government for speaking the truth to the displeasure of Muslims. Remember fanatic Muslims are known to call for the death of blasphemers.
Here is an example of political correctness adding to the erosion, here in America, of our free speech is as follows.Dr. Walid Phares, is an American scholar born in Beirut and is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Middle East history, politics and global terrorism. Dr. Phares said that the Arab media use terms such as Islamic terrorists and Muslim Jihadist while the Obama administration forbids their use. Dr. Phares asked “how can you fight an enemy that you cannot call by name?”

It seems that our government has lost sight of or interest in the first amendment of the United States Constitution which prohibit the making of any law infringing on free speech or infringing on freedom of the press.. I do not believe that our administration has the right to take away our freedom of speech. What will they take away next from the American citizen?
The first step in defending free speech is to look for sources of objective, reliable information. For a list of informative sites e-mail me at Brooklyn13@embarqmail.com Notify me for a list of informative sites. Then make your opinions heard along with all the American people. Do nothing and you are asking to lose our freedom.