I am not a political person… at all. I think about politics and what have you but I am not the most educated American especially when it comes to our government. However, I, like most Americans, have opinions. My opinions about politics and my roommate’s opinions on politics clashed tonight, and thus this post was born.
Now don’t you worry a little hair on your head, this is not going to be some overwhelming politics heavy blog post. That is not at all what I am about. But I just had thoughts on something my roommate said tonight that made me just want to yikes my way out of the room because god damn did what she say make everyone feel uncomfortable.
The night was like any other, a bunch of friends gathered together discussing the news for some reason after watching a new episode of The Bachelor. The conversation was flowing and we got on the topic of Trump because, as you may know, he had a press conference today. In this press conference Trump refused to talk to reporters from CNN. This is what sparked a little argument between me and my roommate as we began talking about how he was trying to silence the press and how he often seems to shut down freedom of speech.
Don’t get it twisted, this article is not about Trump. This article is about what my roommate said when we began talking about freedom of speech. I won’t leave you in suspense any longer and let the cat out of the bag….
My roommate said we shouldn’t have freedom of speech.
Heavy, right? The room fell silent for a while and she could tell that there was literally no one in the room on her side so she began to defend her opinion. She started saying that she thought that there were so many dumb Americans that they shouldn’t always be allowed to say what they want. She said she believed that some people didn’t have nor deserve this right. This didn’t sit well.
The argument was civil, in my opinion. But that’s what this whole thing comes down to… opinion. I argued that everyone has the right to say what they want even if it is the unpopular thing to say. I also argued that freedom of speech is something that starts a conversation and allows someone to see another person’s side. We may not like the other person’s side, but they have the right to state it.
This argument was pretty meta. My roommate and I were arguing opinions on someones right to state their opinion. I realized as we argued though an important lesson: This argument we were having is what freedom of speech is all about. My roommate can tell me all she wants that freedom of speech shouldn’t exist because stupid people shouldn’t have a voice or public forum to present their shitty opinion and in turn I can think she would be one of those people if that were to happen. However, I believe no one should be told what they can and can’t say. When speech is limited it is almost like the thought police truly do exist. I’ve read 1984, I’m not living in that world.
Overall I just felt like talking about this because I thought it was important. I know there are people that think like me and there are also people who think like my roommate. I just think that we should reflect on not only what’s going on in the world right now but how we feel about it. Things are scary in the country I call home these days, but it’s important to know that we have our rights. These rights are things that I don’t think a sole in this country would stand for if they were taken away.
I dunno, it’s a weird kind of comfort in these crazy times.
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