Lately, the blogs have really been piling it on about the nutty professor in Colorado, Ward Churchill and his despicable remarks. I have purposely stayed away from this discussion. While the statements themselves appall me just like they do everyone else, I was a little torn over what should be done about this anti-American academic. There is no doubt that the first amendment protects his right to say whatever crazy and hateful things he wants to without being arrested. However, as Newt Gingrich points out, that does not mean that the state of Colorado has to pay him for his left wing hatred. Still, I do not think it would be prudent to start firing professors for making political statements, no matter how bizarre they seem to be. It just sets a bad precedent. I believe in freedom of thoughts and ideas, no matter how crazy they are. What would we say if the left were trying to get a professor fired for saying nice things about the Confederacy? What if they tried to get Glenn Reynolds fired for what he posts on his web log? It may sound like a lopsided comparison but we have to apply the same principles for everyone. We must be consistent in all matters related to our freedom. I was really shocked that the French banned religious head scarves last year. The idea of the EU banning Nazi symbols is also shocking to most Americans, although we despise German fascism. In America, we do not quiet those we disagree with. It is not our custom. No matter how much we despise the message, America has always protected the messenger. So we have to let this guy keep talking, even though we would like to take him out to the woodshed and give him a good old whipping. One thing that I have always wondered about guys like Churchill, Noam Chomsky, and all of the other people who think America is evil and Americans are bad, is why they continue to live here. These guys hate us just like Castro hates us, yet they still choose to live in the United States. It just seems that if America was so bad, they would leave. Maybe, they could go to some workers paradise like Cuba or maybe China.
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