Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a gentleman I've come to know and respect. He will be speaking at college campuses throughout Texas on the topic of "Unlearning Liberty."
The interesting thing about FIRE is they've been called "right-wing" by activists on the left because many (though, not all) of this law firm's clients end up being right-leaning libertarians and conservatives. But a moment's research into FIRE's background will tell a different story.
Both Greg and FIRE's Co-Founder, Harvey Silvergate, have worked closely within the ranks of the ACLU, another law firm which conservatives legitimately hold suspect for its avowedly pro-communist roots in its early days. Contemporary observers will more likely know the ACLU for its liberal advocacy on social matters, pornography, and on obscene speech and broadcasting.
Both Harvey and Greg to this day are staunch believers in free speech... to a point traditional conservatives will probably say is to a fault. But unlike the rest of the ACLU, their commitment has led them to fight against left wing oppression too often seen on college campuses nationwide. This is what Hayekian "liberalism" looks like when applied consistently: not just to gays and pornographers, but to beleaguered conservative students on campuses dominated by political correctness; each end up benefiting from FIRE's defense.
This, of course, comes as a welcome relief to students facing unjust punishment from left wing faculty and administrators, but what will this mean for students attending private Baptist institutions, such as Baylor University? My understanding, as Greg intones in the Q&A portion of the linked lecture, is that the first amendment in its fullest expression exists so that private institutions like Baylor can not only exist, but thrive.
That's what students will find out this November 5th. Conservatives may not come to fully agree with liberalism, as construed by 60's style politics; but the kind of liberalism FIRE promotes is one which merits the conservative's careful contemplation.
UPDATE: FIRE maintains a handy database which profiles each university based on their policies regarding speech restrictions. Here is FIRE's dossier on Baylor University.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It's My Flag, It's My Right
Freedom of expression. Oh yeah, you have it, if you're expressing the same opinions as everyone else. Sharing the majority opinion isn’t something I’m known for, but I can honestly say I don’t know anyone who thinks we should not be allowed to display the American Flag.
But apparently, somebody does, and now all hell is breaking loose.
First, was a remark made to J.E. that she couldn’t display her flags in her window, and someone in the apartment below removed his. Then she received a phone call saying she had to take it down because nothing was allowed in the windows period. We were disgruntled, but I didn’t think too much of it. Then I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3kAfbVQwl8
and this:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=190081653437
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/10/17/news/doc4ad93893e311f016185961.txt
So is this just an uncanny coincidence, or a genuine threat to our nation’s flag? I don’t know about you, but I find the whole “everything has to come down”, “sports flags are also not allowed”, and “nothing is allowed on the lockers” too thin an excuse, and I don’t believe in coincidences, especially not when they come in threes.
The fact that these people are facing eviction for these flags is complete un-American. We are allowed to burn flags, wear rude T-shirts, and worse under the First Amendment and yet we can’t fly the flag because “someone might be offended”?
Well, if that someone is going to be so put out by my flag, they can get the hell out of my country! No one complains when my friends from other countries walk around with German flags pinned to their backpacks, or Mexican flags hanging off the rearview mirror of their car. If I’m not allowed to fly my own flag in my own country, what does that say to them?
Now I understand it is one thing to say you can’t have it in the window of your apartment, because it is technically the property of the apartment complex owner. But to say that you can’t have it on your car? Hello! That’s your property. To think that anyone could try and tell me what I can and can’t have on my car, which I paid for, maintain, and value as my own, ultimate personal space, is utterly absurd. The fact this even became an issue is mind boggling to me.
My flag is not in my window or on my car (I don’t believe in stickers, and I have no antenna to fly it on.). I have it on my bedspread. I’ve had that patriotic quilt for seven years, and I can’t help but wonder is someone going to say “You need to put that in the linen closet” and try to evict me when I tell them to take a hike?
Too many people have paid in blood for that flag and what it stands for. It’s bad enough that people are allowed to desecrate it and we can’t protect it, but to deny us the right to respect and cherish, and DISPLAY, our flag at all? Next we’ll be denied our right to sing the national anthem at football games, the Pledge will be banned from schools for reasons other than “Under God”. Soon we will be denied the right to respect and cherish our nation itself.
But apparently, somebody does, and now all hell is breaking loose.
First, was a remark made to J.E. that she couldn’t display her flags in her window, and someone in the apartment below removed his. Then she received a phone call saying she had to take it down because nothing was allowed in the windows period. We were disgruntled, but I didn’t think too much of it. Then I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3kAfbVQwl8
and this:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=190081653437
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/10/17/news/doc4ad93893e311f016185961.txt
So is this just an uncanny coincidence, or a genuine threat to our nation’s flag? I don’t know about you, but I find the whole “everything has to come down”, “sports flags are also not allowed”, and “nothing is allowed on the lockers” too thin an excuse, and I don’t believe in coincidences, especially not when they come in threes.
The fact that these people are facing eviction for these flags is complete un-American. We are allowed to burn flags, wear rude T-shirts, and worse under the First Amendment and yet we can’t fly the flag because “someone might be offended”?
Well, if that someone is going to be so put out by my flag, they can get the hell out of my country! No one complains when my friends from other countries walk around with German flags pinned to their backpacks, or Mexican flags hanging off the rearview mirror of their car. If I’m not allowed to fly my own flag in my own country, what does that say to them?
Now I understand it is one thing to say you can’t have it in the window of your apartment, because it is technically the property of the apartment complex owner. But to say that you can’t have it on your car? Hello! That’s your property. To think that anyone could try and tell me what I can and can’t have on my car, which I paid for, maintain, and value as my own, ultimate personal space, is utterly absurd. The fact this even became an issue is mind boggling to me.
My flag is not in my window or on my car (I don’t believe in stickers, and I have no antenna to fly it on.). I have it on my bedspread. I’ve had that patriotic quilt for seven years, and I can’t help but wonder is someone going to say “You need to put that in the linen closet” and try to evict me when I tell them to take a hike?
Too many people have paid in blood for that flag and what it stands for. It’s bad enough that people are allowed to desecrate it and we can’t protect it, but to deny us the right to respect and cherish, and DISPLAY, our flag at all? Next we’ll be denied our right to sing the national anthem at football games, the Pledge will be banned from schools for reasons other than “Under God”. Soon we will be denied the right to respect and cherish our nation itself.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Don't Tear Me Down
I was just complaining to J.E. that I wanted to write a post, but I was completely unable to decide what to write about. Then I found my answer. I was too tired to post at the time, so I'm taking my night-off-of-the-week to write this, and can't think of a better way to spend it:
J.E. posted a video on her facebook, which I reposted on mine, about the Mojave Desert War Memorial, and the danger it faces of being taken down. Before I continue, let me explain this memorial is, and why it matters:
The Mohave Desert War Memorial was erected in 1934 by WWI veterans to honor their fallen comrades. The memorial is a simple cross, on a rock, in the middle of the desert. The cross, while a "Christian" symbol, is also a symbol used worldwide for such memorials, with and without religious reasons.
This cross has stood there for 75 years without anybody complaining, until now.
The scoop: On man, who lives in Oregon (the memorial is in California), complained that he didn't believe that the cross should be on government property. Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is attempting to tear down the memorial. For the moment, it is covered up, but still standing.
So, plainly speaking, one guy who lives nowhere near this one random cross in the middle of nowhere, makes a stink about it, and now a 75 year old memorial raised by the veterans of one of the greatest and most terrible wars of all time is in danger of being destroyed?
The Supreme Court hearing on this issue started today (Or rather, yesterday, since writing this has taken me past the midnight mark). When did I hear about this? Yesterday (The day before, now.). Naturally, given the unreliability of our public media, I'm not surprised that this is the first I heard of this issue, but it does not make me any the less angry that I was prevented from hearing sooner, so I could speak out and take action sooner.
This memorial stands not only for WWI veterans, but for all who fall in the service of their country. Think nothing of the fact the symbol of the cross can be associated with Christianity. Think for a moment, only of the fact that it is a symbol for fallen veterans. In what way does anyone gain from dishonoring their memory? What message does this send out to soldiers fighting today? If we cannot respect the soldiers of our past, what can they expect in the future? I don't know about you, but after what some of my family and friends have gone through, I expect better from our citizens.
Now you can consider the cross in its Christian context. In our nation, we are supposed to have a wonderful constitutional right called freedom of religion. Yet here we are, wasting time and energy about a single cross? I pass about 3 different crosses every time I drive from school to home, as well as the Israeli flag twice, and nary a complaint from my fellow commuters or myself. If someone decided to fly the Alam al-Shahada from their flagpole, I wouldn’t complain. I see symbols, signs and sayings everywhere, on private and public property, that I may not believe in or agree with, but that’s the glory of this nation-that everyone is supposedly allowed to express their beliefs and opinions without persecution. Sadly, in my own experience, persecution has ever been my companion, a story I may tell later on, because I have to wonder: Who will continue to stand and fight, when they gain nothing but hatred, and how long
before Christians themselves may still stand, but have to be hidden, like the cross in the desert?
Both issues touch close to home for me. I have veterans amongst my family and friends, people who have given their time, their health, their lives, for a greater purpose, and I, frankly speaking, am just plain sick of having to fight for my religious rights in a supposedly free country.
~Caera
Official Site:
http://www.donttearmedown.com/
The Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeuBB_mOFIA&feature=channel_page
J.E. posted a video on her facebook, which I reposted on mine, about the Mojave Desert War Memorial, and the danger it faces of being taken down. Before I continue, let me explain this memorial is, and why it matters:
The Mohave Desert War Memorial was erected in 1934 by WWI veterans to honor their fallen comrades. The memorial is a simple cross, on a rock, in the middle of the desert. The cross, while a "Christian" symbol, is also a symbol used worldwide for such memorials, with and without religious reasons.
This cross has stood there for 75 years without anybody complaining, until now.
The scoop: On man, who lives in Oregon (the memorial is in California), complained that he didn't believe that the cross should be on government property. Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is attempting to tear down the memorial. For the moment, it is covered up, but still standing.
So, plainly speaking, one guy who lives nowhere near this one random cross in the middle of nowhere, makes a stink about it, and now a 75 year old memorial raised by the veterans of one of the greatest and most terrible wars of all time is in danger of being destroyed?
The Supreme Court hearing on this issue started today (Or rather, yesterday, since writing this has taken me past the midnight mark). When did I hear about this? Yesterday (The day before, now.). Naturally, given the unreliability of our public media, I'm not surprised that this is the first I heard of this issue, but it does not make me any the less angry that I was prevented from hearing sooner, so I could speak out and take action sooner.
This memorial stands not only for WWI veterans, but for all who fall in the service of their country. Think nothing of the fact the symbol of the cross can be associated with Christianity. Think for a moment, only of the fact that it is a symbol for fallen veterans. In what way does anyone gain from dishonoring their memory? What message does this send out to soldiers fighting today? If we cannot respect the soldiers of our past, what can they expect in the future? I don't know about you, but after what some of my family and friends have gone through, I expect better from our citizens.
Now you can consider the cross in its Christian context. In our nation, we are supposed to have a wonderful constitutional right called freedom of religion. Yet here we are, wasting time and energy about a single cross? I pass about 3 different crosses every time I drive from school to home, as well as the Israeli flag twice, and nary a complaint from my fellow commuters or myself. If someone decided to fly the Alam al-Shahada from their flagpole, I wouldn’t complain. I see symbols, signs and sayings everywhere, on private and public property, that I may not believe in or agree with, but that’s the glory of this nation-that everyone is supposedly allowed to express their beliefs and opinions without persecution. Sadly, in my own experience, persecution has ever been my companion, a story I may tell later on, because I have to wonder: Who will continue to stand and fight, when they gain nothing but hatred, and how long
before Christians themselves may still stand, but have to be hidden, like the cross in the desert?
Both issues touch close to home for me. I have veterans amongst my family and friends, people who have given their time, their health, their lives, for a greater purpose, and I, frankly speaking, am just plain sick of having to fight for my religious rights in a supposedly free country.
~Caera
Official Site:
http://www.donttearmedown.com/
The Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeuBB_mOFIA&feature=channel_page
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