Censorship

I usually try to stay out of the policital debates. That's not what I wanted my blog to be about. I wanted it to be about light and funny things. And I guess what I'm about to say isn't really a political debate, more of a debate/rant on censorship and the 1st Amendment.

I have tried to post openly and honestly about what I think and feel in life. I have always tried not to alienate anyone from reading my blog. We all know there aren't very many of you. I have censored myself with regards to certain aspects of my life. However, I have to open my mouth about what is going on in the comments of my favorite blog to read.

Heather Armstrong writes and publishes Dooce.com. Almost always her posts are light and funny posts about her husband, child, or dogs. Every once in a while she'll get a bug up her butt and post about something important to her. Kind of like the bug I get up my butt every once in a while.

Today she, in my opinion, tactfully posted her feelings about the speech given by Republican VP candidate Palin. She posted a link to an AP article explaining how some of the things said in the speech were incorrect. She left this post open to comments. She usually closes comments on all of her posts. She has gotten tired of the hate spewed her way.

I can't begin to fathom why she left them open this time. I don't know her personally, although I do feel a certain amount of closeness with this woman who has opened her home and life to the world. I can only guess that it was because she wanted people to get together and actually TALK about what's going on in this election.

What I found somewhat disturbing was the amount of people telling her that she never should have posted about this. That she should have kept her mouth shut and posted about what she knew best. That a mommyblog was no place for politics. What are they thinking? This is America that she lives in and we have the 1st Amendment.

IT'S HER BLOG. sHE CAN POST WHATEVER SHE DAMN WELL PLEASES AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER. We are granted a certain amount of freedom of speech by the 1st Amendment. I know that freedom comes with responsibilty. I do not believe that she was being irresponsible in her post.

Although I don't agree with ALL of what she said I do agree with a lot of what she said. Whether or not I agree with her comments however has nothing to do with her ability or right to post them. It's her point of view on this issue.

Neither am I saying that the people that told her to shut up should not have been allowed to post. They could have, as some did, simply stopped reading the blog. If you don't like something that you can't control you stop subjecting yourself to it. If you can control it then by all means try to change it. To publicly attack someone the comments of thier blog and tell them that their stupid or don't know what they're talking about is, to me, akin to going into someone's living room and saying those things to their face. It's like the cyber bullying commercials, don't know if you have them where you live, but "If you wouldn't say it to someone's face why would you say it online?"

What someone else posts on their blog is none of my business. If I don't like it I don't read it. It's not like she's in these people's homes with guns to their heads forcing them to read her blog or look at pictures of her dogs. I know she lives within 25 miles of me but I'm not afraid she'll come over and "pay me a visit" if I don't read her blog on a daily basis.

So what the fuck is wrong with people that they think it's okay to tell her what she can and can't say on her own damn blog? Have we become so self-centered in this country that we can't accept that there are other people out there? That they might think differently than we do? That they have the right to think differently? That that is what actually makes this country great?

Soemtimes I get so fed up with the pettiness in the world.