Opinion
A few days ago I received an EMAIL from someone who said sometimes I have not been politically correct when I addressed certain issues.
Well, I guess I’ll have to agree with that statement. I try to be polite and thoughtful. But the truth is I don’t worry about being politically correct.
There was a time speaking your mind, sharing the truth, calling out someone who is a flat out liar, a thief, an opportunist, a scumbag, a pervert or whatever was considered a trait of the torchbearer of truth.
Whatever happened to the time you could say the truth, share your opinion, or ask a question without having to worry about the ramifications? Groups like the ACLU, skin-heads, various ethnic groups, religious groups, animal lovers, animal haters, or a host of other people and groups including politicos and politicians?
These days you have to worry about gang retaliation, crooked politicians and politicos with “contacts and friends in high places,” terrorists and our own government officials and courts when you dare speak out.
People now sit on two different sides of the fence on this issue. On one side, they don’t like you for telling the truth, making commentary or asking questions, especially if it concerns them. It’s okay for them to say what they want to say, do what they want to, but don’t you respond with an honest opinion or disagree with them or their actions.
The other side feels they are being run over, mistreated, falsely described as takers, moochers, lazy, dishonest, or a host of other adjectives that they consider demeaning even if it describes them to a T.
I have personally been threatened and warned to back off or to be careful more than once in my career as an outspoken individual, news-talk host, columnist, and political blogger. I have somewhat worried about this on a couple of occasions, but not for very long.
Some time ago I read a story by Phil Valentine, a well know colleague in this industry, in which he said, “It’s one thing to fear for your life in the midst of radicals who would just as soon slit your throat as look at you, but here in America?”
Phil Valentine went on to say, he had “often joked that the only two groups we in talk radio can get away with offending are the deaf and the Amish.
Now there is an offense from which you may never come back and that is offending a Muslim “terrorist” (referring to the whole paper tiger of a movie, Innocence of Muslims thing),” which started out being an excuse – a scapegoat – but has now become its own cause against the infidels.
I’ll tell you this right now and without any remorse, Bill Pickle believes in the Constitution of the United States and the First Amendment, the Second Amendment as well as every other part of that document. I also believe in the Constitutions of our great States.
Those of us whose whole existence hangs by the time-worn threads of the First Amendment naturally, whether it be news-talk radio host, political bloggers, TV reporters, columnists, or whoever else who works to get to the truth and to protect our rights should throw a fit and yell from the highest point in their area when anyone gets too close to its fragile framework.
Recently, there have been many instances of domestic terrorism. The way I see it, terrorism’s target is not to kill people for the sake of killing. It’s to change behavior and policy. It’s to force whole societies to relinquish long-held standards of freedom in order to comply with the radical wishes of the terrorists. And South Carolina and America have complied.
There have been those who have obstructed the rights of individuals to run for public office. In turn, they have prevented the citizens of South Carolina the right to vote for the person of their choice to hold various offices. Elections everywhere are under attack.
There are those who have used the courts as a huge chess set to stop the advancement of people who wish to serve our community and state and the courts have gone along with these terrorists.
There are those telling straight out lies and half-truths as they seek political office so they can serve us (as they try to get us to believe).
In my humble opinion, these people are the ones who are currently attacking our rights to have free and open elections. They are the terrorists who are attacking our right to vote in free and open elections. They are the ones trying to prevent our rights of free speech and expression.
On the national front, when our past president publicly apologized for a movie he had never seen asked YouTube to review and remove the trailers of a movie critical of Islam, we’ve lost free speech.
I admit I never saw the trailers, nor the movie. But I don’t have to, nor do I want to. That too is my right.
Other politicians have and are currently playing with fire as they attempt to block or take away our rights as citizens of this great country.
But, at the end of the day, who cares? So what if comments of a few news-talk hosts, journalists, voters, and want-to-be candidates are taken away or threatened? What does it really matter? It matters to me and it matters a lot!
We want to enjoy the luxury of our freedoms, but unlike our founders, we are no longer willing to sacrifice, fight or die for them, which begs the question… “Do we really deserve them?”
You and I can only answer these questions for ourselves.
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