Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Hanno on Free Speech

Hanno's proposal to amend the flag burning amendment:

LET US BAN the burning of the American flag. It is offensive to the majority of the citizens of this country. It is hateful. People place great importance in symbols of national unity, and the flag is the primary symbol. Let us not forget that people died protecting this country and its symbol, and burning the flag mocks their sacrifice.

LET US BAN anti-American speeches. Such speeches are offensive to the majority of the citizens of this country. We love our country. It hurts us when people associate this country with great evils. The speeches themselves are hateful. Let us protect the love of our country by making sure enemies of America keep their hate to themselves, and do not pass it on to our young.

LET US BAN speeches that mock Christianity. Christianity is woven into the fabric of this great nation. Most people today are still Christians. It is offensive to those people for others to mock their views. Such speeches are inspired by hate, and cause pain.

LET US BAN speeches that mock other deeply held religious views. No matter how few in number, it is painful to the people who deeply hold them to criticize their beliefs. Religious faith should be revered. It is offensive to most of us when others hold their views with contempt.

LET US BAN speeches and teachings contradict religious beliefs in the name of ‘science.’ This is offensive to the people who hold those religious views. It causes them to feel ostracized by their community, and may teach views with which they disagree to their children.

LET US BAN speeches which promote religion. This is offensive to those who do not share those religious views. Promoting religion ostracizes non-believes, making them feel uncomfortable in their own community.

LET US BAN music and movies which promote sex and drugs. It is offensive to the vast majority who do not want their children growing up in an environment which holds that those things are good. As our culture becomes pro-sex and pro-drugs, our people will do these things more often. This will have a terrible effect on our country.

LET US BAN images and music which degrade women. Such images promote harm to women everywhere, and promote the inequality of the sexes. It is offensive to all who believe in sexual equality.

LET US BAN sexually explicit pictures and movies. These are offensive to the vast majority of the country. It is disgusting to watch such things. These things are too disgusting to be allowed.

LET US BAN the teaching of history which portrays the US Civil War as being about slavery. Such is offensive to white southern people, whose ancestors fought in the war. It brings disrepute to people living today by bring disrepute to people dieing long ago.

LET US BAN the teaching of history which portrays the Civil War as being about States Rights. This is offensive to the people who lived under southern slavery, and those who fought and died to end it. By making Federal soldiers invaders, this brings disrepute to anyone who supported the North.

LET US BAN the teaching of any part of American history that brings disrepute to this great nation. It is offensive to those that love this country.

LET US BAN the teaching of any part of American history which white-washes the evils of the past. If we do not know what went wrong, we are doomed to repeat it. It is offensive to pretend that millions of Native Americans didn’t die, or that slavery wasn’t so bad.

LET US BAN the mockery of “philosophers” who disparage our distaste for offensive behavior. It is offensive to us to ridicule our sincere efforts to ban offensive speech.

ON SECOND THOUGHT, let us ban the first amendment. Its only purpose is to protect speech the majority thinks is offensive. Let chuck the whole god-damned thing.