You know how sometimes you think it would be nice if everyone agreed (presumably with you)? I say that sometimes but I don't really mean it. Things are much more interesting when you hear different ideas and points of view. Some people are articulate and well-spoken, and some are emotionally charged and annoying; I listen to them all, though.

Freedom of speech is a championed and fundamental cornerstone of modern society (I suppose all cornerstones are fundamental?). People both right and left along the political spectrum cherish the ability to speak freely yet every now and then there are attempts to erode it. You'd expect the attempts to come from so-called lunatic fringes but often they come from apparently rational people. Last week there were Angelina Jolies peculiar demands that any press who wanted to interview her about her new movie neither ask personal questions nor use anything from the interview to cast her in a negative or unpleasant light. Sheesh. At least everyone knew it was nutty on account of she's nutty. Gorgeous, talented . . . and nutty.

Now comes word that Barbara Boxer and Hillary Clinton (and anyone else?) want to restrict talk radio. There's a myriad of problems with this right off the bat including what they mean by "talk radio." Do they mean morning dj's? Do they mean shock jocks? It's all talk radio, though the general reaction is that B&H mean political chatterers like Monica Crowley, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Bill O'Reilly, etc. Some of whom are calm, rational and interesting. Sure, some are not, but so what? And by the way, there are several commentators on the left who offend people, too, but same answer.

One perhaps obvious point is that radios have on-and-off switches. No one needs to listen to what they don't like. If an offending show's advertisers don't sell products, the jig will be up. Political talk radio commentators don't use scatological language, don't encourage people to have sex in St. Patrick's, don't make fun of people as their stock in trade. What they do do is to voice opinions and sometimes talk with listeners who have opinions (sometimes opinions different from theirs).

Radio talkers have millions of listeners, incidentally. Millions. Do Barbie and Hill think people should be prohibited from public expression of valid-though-different opinions and tastes from theirs? (Many of them vote, by the way.) Why should they be taken off the air? Unacceptable public behavior includes shooting people, cheating people, hating people, starving people, preventing people from attending schools or meetings, and other things like that. Voicing opinions is not unacceptable behavior. Everyone must be able to speak their minds and be confident that nothing bad will happen to them as a result.

Labels: headlines, reflections