OMAHA, Neb. — A federal judge overturned Nebraska’s ban on flag mutilation…clearing the way for Kansas church protesters to continue trampling on the U.S. flag when they protest at military funerals. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said the law can’t be applied as long as Megan Phelps-Roper and fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church “otherwise act peacefully while desecrating the American or Nebraska flag during their religiously motivated protests.”
Winston Churchill once said that democracy is the worst form of government imaginable…except for every other form out there. There are times when I’m tempted to agree with him…like now, f’rinstance. In the past, I’ve written extensively about Rev. Fred Phelps and his merry band of inbred uber-Christian zealots from Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church. If these people are Christians, then I’m the captain of the Swedish Bikini Team. Their “theology”, such as it is, is far more redolent of virulent hatred and prejudice than it is the teachings of Jesus Christ. Their protests at the funerals of fallen American soldiers, police officers, and just about anyone else of note are mean-spirited, hateful, and beyond offensive….but, hey, it’s What Jesus Would Do, right??
Nonetheless, as much as I (and pretty much every other American with a functional sense of decency) oppose everything that Phelps and his knuckle-dragging cabal of inbreds stand for, there’s still this little thing called the First Amendment. Yes, while the vast majority of us may hate the WBC’s message and the manner in which it’s delivered, they still enjoy the same constitutionally-guaranteed free-speech rights you and I do. It’s offensive, and it sucks, but if we begin denying groups the right to express themselves because we find their views odious, where on that slippery slope will it stop?
First they came for the Packers fans…but I said nothing, because I hate the Packers….
As disgusting, offensive, and distasteful as I find everything that Phelps and his merry band of inbreds stand for, I find myself reluctantly in agreement with the judge’s ruling in this case. (I, like many Americans, remain VERY interested in how the US Corporate Supreme Court will address and resolve this case.) The trolls DO have the right to express themselves…just as Patriot Guard riders on their motorcycles have the right to rev their engines and drown out the knuckle-draggers. Now there’s some fine American ingenuity, eh??
