MS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

BuzzFlash,

We Americans who have raised families and are in the process of doing so today have always been much concerned about who and what influences our children as they are the future of this country. With that in mind, where did we or our elders of the last half century go wrong?

Today, we have ratings on movies and on TV for age appropriate viewing. Many Americans may not agree with me, but try to find a large selection of movies today that don't have very little story or tale to tell and hoards of violence, blood and guts. This same violence is carried on throughout the computer games. I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but we do not know of the influence of this violence within our country, do we? Of course, they are fantasies and games of fantasy. If we were to view a movie on what the Bush Republican administration has done in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our own New Orleans, no US movie could outdo such violence against fellow human beings.

But, what about the real hate and violence that is on our public airways on TV and radio every day in this country? Those are not stories or fantasies, they are real people talking real hate and violence. They are not talking against the violence of the Bush administration, they are talking for them.

And, when any American speaks out, these same people blame the liberals. Good, but it shouldn't be up to just the liberals and progressives who see this as a problem today, it should be a concern to every American citizen who believes in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and the future generations of this country. Yes, we are protected for free speech, but what should we Americans do when that freedom is used to kill off the very social system that allows such freedoms?

Our Supreme Court: Unique among courts in the world, the Supreme Court has extended broad protection in the area of hate speech—abusive, insulting, intimidating, and harassing speech that at the least fosters hatred and discrimination and at its worst promotes violence and killing. The justices have consistently held that statutes punishing speech or conduct solely on the grounds that they are unseemly or offensive are unconstitutionally overly broad. Only by protecting all forms of speech can the public be assured of uninhibited, vigorous, and wide-open debate.

hate speech: Definition and Much More from Answers.com [1]

Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group of people based on their race [2], gender [3], age, ethnicity [4], nationality [5], religion [6], sexual orientation [7], gender identity [8], disability [9], language [10] ability, moral or political views [11], socioeconomic [12] class [13], occupation [14] or appearance (such as height, weight [15], and hair color), mental capacity and any other distinction-liability. The term covers written as well as oral communication and some forms of behaviors in a public setting. It is also sometimes called antilocution [16] and is the first point on Allport's scale [17] which measures prejudice in a society.

Hate speech - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [18]

Today, we can look back upon 30 years of violence brought about by the Bush Republican Party using prejudices of all kinds to split the citizenry of this country. While they are killing people around the world, Americans are having their good jobs and security for a good life taken away. Today, Americans have to worry about just getting to work to two jobs or to any underpaying job, due to the high cost of gas, all due to War for profit, NAFTA, deregulation, and privatization, and the abuse of every citizen of these United States. Whose profit? We read about the cheap gas in New Mexico and Venezuela, and even in Iran and other countries. Why are Americans having to enrich the profits of these monstrous oil companies? Not just with money, but with the spent lives of their sons, daughters, husbands, and wives. Gone. Lives spent for the riches of those who support his Bush Republican regime.

We can hear arguments about the freedom of our press, however, much of our press, according to those in the White House, only get coverage of what they are told they can print or they don't get into the White House. This is not free speech. It's controlled speech, and we have had controlled speech for eight long years by this illegal and treasonous Bush GOP regime. Just tune into Fox News, an extension of the Bush White House. It all comes down to accountability for what one does and what one says. It's called responsibility and the consequences of our own actions ... something every American citizen has to account for except those in government or those who prop up this criminal Bush GOP government. It's way past time for accountability.

We hear about the deaths and violence in the prisons that were run by the Bush administration, and we know that the invasion/occupation into Iraq, that is said to have killed and displaced millions, was accomplished with lies, however, not all of us Americans were so easily fooled or bought off. And, we have no idea of how many people are being held illegally and without rights in the secret prisons that this Bush administration has constructed. Even our own citizens of New Orleans were never taken care of in the proper way and their lives are still in ruin. It's called, war against the poor. Those who can't fight back.

When families are so worried about the ratings on movies and television, with the violence that has come down on this country within and outside of this country by the Bush Republican leadership and their supporters ... it should be up to all concerned Americans to ask what has caused such violations to other human beings, and how could we allow such violence to go on for so long against so many innocent people. This country's government has been killing and abusing people for over 30 years, and we worry about the ratings on TV and movies. We need to worry about what is happening in real life to real people, by the sound bites of real people, and put a stop to it.

The constant drip, drip, drip of hate speech and hate-driven military action by US government, along with the money flowing for more weapons of mass destruction by the US military using speech driven by fear, all of which ends up on our airways ... such propaganda should be a concern to every thinking American. A concern of what it does to our society's youth and how it influences their thinking over a long period of time, and how it influences the future of this country's leaders. Of course, most of these programs are just for making money, but they are copy cats of influence of a violent US government today, whose power has been promoted instead of controlled by many members of our Congress and Supreme Court.

Another hate speech that should not be neglected comes from the Right-Wing Christian Coalition of this violent Bush Republican Party. It does seem that some people can spread the vermin of hate so much easier than the flower petals of love. We are all members of the human race who live on this planet, and to think that any other human being is above or below themselves, and that they have the right to tell others who should live and who should die and call it the delivery of democracy ... not in our name, never in our name ... should such criminal behavior be allowed, especially if we are to remain a democracy.

We can't take away our own freedoms and destroy what has made this country great in the past, and we can't turn our backs either. However, we can take away the need for such "R" rated programming. To allow sponsored hate speech whose only desire is to make money for themselves and their sponsors ... yet, they are protected by our own democracy ... we could say that by allowing this to go on is the same as arming the intruder who intends to rob, pilfer, take over our residence, and then kill us. Is that what we want for our future generations? Is the good life gone for good? Or, do we protect it, not for just one political season, but for good.

Throw the "R" rated Republican programs out ... for good.

Thanks BuzzFlash,

Shirley Smith

MS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

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