• Latest

Max’s View

April 4, 2016

Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO Hires First Female Executive Director, Signaling New Direction for VT Labor Movement

January 12, 2021

Vermont Mutual Distributes $1,000,000 to COVID-19 Relief Efforts

January 12, 2021
Hunters Take 6,136 Turkeys in Vermont in 2020

Hunters Take 6,136 Turkeys in Vermont in 2020

January 12, 2021
Additional Ounce, Priority Mail and Postcard Stamps Available Jan. 24

Additional Ounce, Priority Mail and Postcard Stamps Available Jan. 24

January 12, 2021
One Credit Union Donates $12K to Make-A-Wish

One Credit Union Donates $12K to Make-A-Wish

January 12, 2021

Unemployment Benefits Extended with Authorization of Federal Relief Bill

January 5, 2021
A Treasured Forest Will Be Open to All – Cambridge Establishes The Peter A. Krusch Nature Preserve

A Treasured Forest Will Be Open to All – Cambridge Establishes The Peter A. Krusch Nature Preserve

January 5, 2021
Just Some Thoughts

Here We Are Again, Already

January 5, 2021
Downton Abbey

Chinatown (1974)

January 5, 2021
Mayor’s Report – September 2019

Mayor’s Report – December 2020

January 5, 2021
MSCVT Kindergartners Deliver Donations to Local Foodbank

MSCVT Kindergartners Deliver Donations to Local Foodbank

December 29, 2020
Petals of Compassion

Petals of Compassion

December 29, 2020
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Monday, January 18, 2021
The World Online
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Max’s View

vt-world by vt-world
April 4, 2016
in Max's View
0

Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech
****
As the excellent documentary “Shouting Fire” reminds us, the First Amendment didn’t always guarantee free speech.

One hundred years ago, it was against the law to speak your mind about the issues of the day. Dozens of Americans were imprisoned for saying that the United States shouldn’t be fighting in World War I.

When the case of jailed Socialist Charles Schenck was brought before the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes – who was apparently an idiot – concluded that arguing in favor of peace was unprotected speech. He famously likened Schenck’s anti-war pamphlets to “shouting fire in a crowded theater and causing a panic.”

Apparently, in Holmes’s feeble fascistic mind, acting like a jerk and causing strangers to be trampled is ethically analogous to not wanting your son to have his legs blown off by a land mine while inhaling mustard gas.

To its credit, the government no longer locks people up for speaking their minds.

Disturbingly, though, our culture seems to grow less tolerant of unpopular speech with every passing year.
In “Shouting Fire”, clear-headed documentarian Liz Garbus introduces us to some people who suffered at the hands of the new American thought police.

We meet an Arab-American principal who was fired for failing to criticize a pro-Muslim t-shirt hard enough. We meet a Colorado professor who was fired for daring to suggest that our government’s violent actions may have inspired the 9/11 terrorists. We meet an earnest Christian teenager who was threatened with expulsion for putting a sticker on his shirt that read “homosexuality is shameful.”

I didn’t like or agree with any of these people. But I felt terrible for them – and our society at large. I am pro-homosexuality to my core. But I also can’t comprehend how my gay pride perspective is any more legitimate than that kid’s gay shame point of view. We should both feel totally free to express our differing opinion and try to convince each other. It’s absurd to teach a child to be tolerant by treating him with rabid intolerance.

The most troubling aspect of America’s self-censorship movement is that it is happening in our schools and colleges.

To me, the greatest lesson one can learn in college is that you are fallible. No matter how much you learn, there is always more to discover. No matter how right you think you are about a topic, you should always be eager to hear another perspective and to be open to having your mind changed.

In 21st Century academia, students and professors must limit and suppress their ideas for fear of offending people.

We need to change our philosophy on the matter of taking offense. If you are offended by something that your classmate Rachel says, you and you alone must take responsibility for your feelings. It’s not Rachel’s fault, it is yours. In fact, if you are offended, you should apologize to Rachel because it is your closed, uptight mind that didn’t allow you to understand and consider her point of view.

The reason Donald Trump is worshipped like an orange balding demigod by 1/4 of America is that he is the only man in the political realm who has the audacity to say what is on his mind, even when it’s shocking and abrasive. And when the thought police calls him a Nazi and a Klansman and demands that he apologize, Trump bravely doubles down and says something even more shocking.

To people like me who enjoy expressing weird and unpopular opinions, Trump’s uncensored speeches are viscerally liberating.

If anything I said today offended you, you’re welcome!

Previous Post

Reiss’s Pieces

Next Post

Vermont Bicycle Shop Opens in Barre

Next Post

Vermont Bicycle Shop Opens in Barre

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Dining Guide
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In