August 8, 2015 6:06 AM

Today's lesson: Free speech doesn't mean irresponsible and inflammatory hate speech

The scary part isn’t the daily stream of angry rants coming from the likes of Michael Savage, Alex Jones and others. What is a cause for concern is the fact that unlike these program hosts, there are mentally ill people out there who listen to them and take their rhetoric seriously. Hate media is protected by the First Amendment, and nobody abuses the right to free speech more than right-wing shock jocks like Michael Savage who could care less about the potential consequences of their fear-mongering so long as they continue to get paid.

From a purely personal standpoint, I could care less about Michael Savage, who’s to reasoned, rational discourse what Mrs. O’Leary’s cow was to lanterns. I’m reminded of the words of a close friend, who once said of a person he held in disdain, “I wouldn’t piss on him if he was en fuego.” The idea that Savage has promised to lead an armed rebellion against The Black Guy in the White House © (who was democratically elected…twice) is as treasonous as it is absurd and painfully embarrassing (for him…if he grasped the concept of shame). Savage is, not to put too fine a point on it, a hate-filled gasbag powered by hatred, racism, and his own massive ego and capacity for self-interest.

As for what Savage stands for, it begins and ends with himself. Always willing to do or say something outrageous if it garners attention (and with it ratings), he stands for nothing except rage and bluster. This is a man (and I use that term loosely) who claims to be a protector and defender of our freedom and liberty…yet he hopes Donald Trump becomes a dictator and rules by decree. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him say anything even remotely worth taking seriously; why would he start now?

The problem is not what Savage stands for, or his racism and abject hatred of those who don’t think as he does (LIBERALS!!!!!). I couldn’t care less about him or his take on anything. No, what concerns me is the inflammatory nature of his bleatings…and the unbalanced loons susceptible to hearing his rants as a call to action. Free speech is all well and good, but free speech shouldn’t- and doesn’t- mean irresponsible speech. With freedom comes responsibility- in this case, that would clearly seem to proscribe being inflammatory, disingenuous, and appealing to the darker angels of those whose grip on reality and self-control may already be tenuous.

People like Savage have nothing positive to contribute, and so it’s the responsibility of those of us who feel we do to stand for something positive and worthwhile. I’m not about to advocate the Savage be silenced, but this world could certainly do with less hatred and divisiveness being spread around…because that’s all Savage stands for.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 8, 2015 6:06 AM.

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