Freedom of Speech Includes Freedom Not to Listen

America is free. We do not have to go into the back rooms of our houses to discuss controversial topics. There is no fear of government officials invading our homes. No one is being carted off for what they are saying, no matter how stupid, vulgar or blasphemous.

Along with our freedom of speech we must retain our freedom not to listen. When government schools tell our children what to believe or when government does not fulfill its responsibility to keep public airwaves open to all viewpoints it has nullified our freedom of selecting what we hear.

Standard programs from Animal Planet to pornography deliver what they advertise.

“Shock-jock”, Don Imus’s remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team that they were “nappy headed hos” was worthless and disgusting although the listening audience was well aware of what to expect from the program.

Imus has done us all a favor of shining the spotlight on one of our freedoms. We have the freedom not to listen. We can be the censors by turning off the television, radio or CDs and not watch objectionable movies. We have the freedom to walk away from people whose influence is negative or evil.

The standard of freedom of speech as only responsible and thoughtful is a utopian dream. Humans being human means we are imperfect creatures. We can make bad as well as good choices in what we say and how we say it.

Anointing any one person to censor speech or allowing self-appointed censors like the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson or Bull Bennett will be the end of freedom of speech. Who will censor the censor when the individual uses his power for his own agenda?

Rather than giving any one individual or group the power of censorship we adults in America must perform the task to discriminate what we want to see or hear. We must struggle to create a safe and wholesome world for our children. This is a difficult job for each adult although the accumulated choices of each person is far more just and effective in keeping America a free and vital civilization than relying on the government.

We Americans know we are lied to by Madison Avenue through fraudulent advertising. “Take this product and you are guaranteed to lose fifty pounds in a month.” “This beauty cream will wipe away all your wrinkles.” “A new wonder drug will cure any mental or physical ailment you possess.” The consumer has to see through the smokescreen of deceit.

Politicians of all stripes through their campaign advertising distort their record and everyone else’s as a standard operating procedure. This is true for the vast majority of elected officials.

The citizen has the responsibility to listen carefully, research and make educated decisions. We alone should have the power to turn off the television, not buy the product for $19.95 or choose a candidate on a local, state and national level. It is our decision to make, not the government’s.

Our government has the responsibility to prohibit speech of those who are plotting to destroy our nation or do violence to others. When government controls schools it has. a responsibility to set levels of decency. They set the standards in dress, physical contact and speech to insure an environment conducive to learning. Local, state and federal governments have no right to cross the line into indoctrination of students for the greater good of society.

The responsibility of inculcating values to children in a free society belongs to the parents. Adults can protect themselves through their choices while parents have the duty to do the same for their children.

Education is teaching necessary basic skills to function in today’s society. The moral values instilled in our children should continue to come from the family.

Propaganda from government and media elites cannot replace the family’s role in a free society. Even when attempting to reach a noble cause like eliminating ethnic, religious and racial hatred, local and national governments setting standards for politically correct speech is a “slippery slope”.

This path of political correctness has already led to repression of speech that will ultimately end in totalitarianism.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: There ought to be a law to punish false accusers and corrupt prosecutors

The State Attorney of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, after reviewing the evidence of the Duke Lacross case has stated that the players on the team are innocent of all charges brought by the State Prosecutor, Mike Nyfong. This phase of the proceedings took more than a year. The legal system has yet to determine whether the dishonest prosecutor and the accuser should be criminally responsible for their actions.

The integrity of our legal system demands government officials who withhold or falsify information and citizens who bring false charges must receive severe punishment. The lack of consequences for these behaviors will only lead to a continuing decline of respect for our judicial system.

This Duke case is only “the tip of the iceberg” of citizens being guilty until proven innocent. The perversion of a main underpinning of our legal system: that a person is innocent until proven guilty, is becoming frighteningly commonplace in our nation.

Custody cases, sexual harassment and abuse, hate crimes and domestic violence force the accused to prove their own innocence. They are investigated often in long, drawn out procedures without having specific knowledge of when or where the incident was supposed to have occurred. The government bureaucrat has the power to investigate and determine the possible validity of the charges with little accountability. The investigators are often understaffed and poorly trained to make a just and rapid determination. In the meantime the innocent person accused suffers from not knowing if or when the ordeal will end.

Eventually, when the usual “not founded” conclusion is reached, the false accuser or the self-serving bureaucrat more often than not is immune from consequences for his actions.

Presently it appears there is no consideration of the character of the person making the allegation. Everyone is treated as if he is equally honorable no matter how sordid the past. Even when a person is shown to be a pathological liar his testimony is given equal credence to an individual who has lived an exemplary life. This is absurd. Reputation has and still should matter in arriving at the plausibility of an accuser’s allegation.

This system must be revamped to protect the rights of the innocent. The following recommendations will bring into balance rights of the accuser and the accused. This will bring us back to the original intent of the law: to be innocent until proven guilty.

• A law needs to be passed to make it a crime for a false accuser or corrupt bureaucrat who has blatantly lied to be prosecuted.
• There should be a time limit of 2-4 weeks to determine the plausibility of the charge.
• Should the accuser is found to be lying to the investigators the state should be required to prosecute for perjury.
• Any investigator or prosecuting attorney who is found to withhold or falsify information should be charged with a crime.

These recommendations will introduce a level of accountability to the process.

The Sixth Amendment of the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to a speedy trial. The person falsely accused of abuse deserves the same protection of a thorough but quick process. Instead of a nebulous “unfounded” statement they should be declared “innocent of all charges.” North Carolina State Attorney, Ron Cooper, publicly declared the Duke defendants innocent to help them regain their good reputations.

Our system of justice cannot give an individual falsely claiming to be violated or a corrupt government official impunity from prosecution after they trample on the lives of others. It may be necessary in our Politically Correct climate to give the benefit of a doubt to a person claiming to be victimized by another.

However, if the self-proclaimed “victim” is blatantly lying, or the government bureaucrat is falsifying information to win the case, they must be punished. A strong consequence will act as a deterrent minimizing the number of cases where a person is guilty until proven innocent.

The Pathetic Effects of the G.P.A. Lie

A fifteen-year-old girl and her parents came into a school to be evaluated for admission. The girl dressed casually in tight jeans and a halter top. She kept her head at an angle that made reluctant eye contact with the administrator.

The parents announced unconvincingly that their daughter was an excellent student with a 3.8 GPA. The parents acted nervous as if they did not believe whet they were saying. They were asked to return after two hours when their daughter would finish with the testing.

The student went to the classroom where the testing was to begin. Her lack of enthusiasm bordered on an appearance of depression. After fifteen minutes she indicated to the teacher that these grade level tests were too difficult for her to continue. She said she was a bad test taker and the teacher told her to just do her best and not to worry.

The testing indicated she was three years below the ninth grade academic level. The girl knew she was living a lie. Her inflated grade point average was a hoax perpetuated by everyone connected with her school.

However, no one at the school will be held accountable for the deceit. The casualty in this swindle is ultimately the teenage girl. She was not only socially promoted but she was given high, unearned grades to feed unrealistic expectations of being prepared to be successful in college. Too many innately bright students are in the same predicament. They are being cheated of their youth and worse, their future.

She was aware on some level that she did not earn her elevated grades. In this affluent era it is difficult to persuade students that lack of knowledge and skills will affect them. This erroneous idea is understandable from the student’s perspective since most students have not been given consequences for displaying bad habits. School and homework assignments are often not marked which devaluates any student effort. Plagiarizing from professional sources and copying other student’s tests are just ignored. They are allowed to develop bad habits taking short cuts to “just get by.”

This scenario is happening all over the country with disastrous results in the education of our young people.

In our modern society there will be other chances for these betrayed students to correct their deficiencies. They will have other chances with remedial courses in college although if they did it right the first time it would be much easier and their future much brighter.

In order to prevent this travesty from happening to your child or grandchild the following steps should be taken.

1. Train your child to be honest, independent and do quality work.

2. Ask your child everyday what he has learned at home and at school instilling the values and love of knowledge.

3. Do not do your child’s homework .

4. Monitor your child’s completion of all assignments in the home and school.

5. Ask your child general information questions in areas studied in school.

6. Set high standards and expectations for home and for school.

7. Trust your intuition concerning your child’s academic performance.

8. Demand from the school an honest evaluation of your child in all areas.

By parents being proactive at home and at school, children will not be able to fall between the cracks. As the child matures mentally and physically our expectations for their abilities in all areas should elevate too. These higher standards help challenge them to reach higher and higher goals.

Living a “Grade Point Average Lie” takes many accomplices: the parents, the school and the child. It takes only one responsible person to pull the plug on these charades although the person will probably not be appreciated for their accurate assessments.

Beware the messenger may receive a certain amount of punishment although the rewards will far outweigh the negative. The good Samaritan will know he has awakened a depressed teenager giving her an opportunity to rejuvenate her enthusiasm for addressing her deficiencies before it is too late. This is a gift worth giving.