The State Of Free Speech At Columbia University (Embracing Tolerance 101)

No doubt by now, you have heard of the incident that occurred last week at Columbia University , the one that involved leftist students disrupting a speech, which was to be given by some of the Minutemen. The NY Post has some commentary on this incident, here.

Nearly 40 years after activist students trashed the executive offices of Columbia University (all in the name of "peace," don't you know), another crowd of young hooligans Wednesday violently broke up a speech at the Ivy League campus - physically attacking the speaker, forcing him to flee and sparking a brawl.

This time, the cause is "free speech."

No kidding.

How ironic it is that a group of people that "claim" they support free speech would use radical Marxist and Nazi-like tactics to stop someone they disagree with from giving a talk that they were invited to give. The right to free speech these people claim to be fighting for, was blatantly, intentionally, and explicitly denied to the Minutemen (and the College Republicans that invited them and obtained legitimate approval from the university). It's nothing more than the epitome of hypocrisy and in my opinion, it trashes the very institutions and basic civil rights, this great nation was built on.

Let's make something perfectly clear here, I am not criticizing the leftists for their opinions, here. As weak and flawed as I think their thinking may be, they have a right to be heard. Whether I agree with them or not, is not relevant to this argument. They have a right to their beliefs and they have a right to communicate and express those beliefs, in the proper forums, at the proper times. But they do not have the right to disrupt another groups free speech, just becaue they disagree with them.

As the old saying goes, my rights end where yours begin, and that is applicable here. But that doesn't seem to matter to some people. Because, from the actions seen here, these people committed a premeditated, wanton, and willful act of suppressing the rights of the Minutemen (and the College Republicans). They denied these people their Contitutional rights as afforded them by the very document that they wish invoke, when it suits their specific interests.

Why did they do it, you ask? Let's look at some more of the piece in the NYP, for a weak excuse of an answer:

"It was fundamentally a part of free speech," one protester told The Columbia Daily Spectator. "The Minutemen are not a legitimate part of the debate on immigration."

What a narcissistic and egocentric display of reasoning, this is.

What a thoroughly weak and faulty argument, this is.

Who has the right to determine, who is (or is not) part of any debate, in this country?

Any American citizen that chooses to make a claim and attempt to support their claim, has the fundamental right to be a part of this (or any other) debate. In my opinion, there would be no debate right now, if it were not for the Minutemen bringing this issue, to the forefront. The Dems don't want it debated, they want the votes. The GOP doesn't want to debate it, they want the cheap labor. But yet, almost 80% of the American people want this debate. So if it isn't them, someone has to press the issue. Otherwise, 80% of the people are not getting a voice.

But the MoveOn.Org (and other extremist groups) cult members have no use for debate. Far too many of them are programmed robots. They spew out programmed little catch-phrases provided to them on a daily basis, through e-mails and web sites, also known as daily talking points. After receiving their daily marching orders, they hit the news shows, blogs, and the message boards, and repeat the same old tired propaganda and offer little actual proof that their message is sound. But my, how they have those catchy slogans.

Have you ever tried to have a debate with a MoveOn.Org (or other such entity) member? They are not people that you can have an intelligent, rational debate with. When you counter their arguments with sound logic (or better yet, hard facts), they either fly off the handle and become insulting or they claim you are a Nazi-like neo-con and further claim you have insulted them. This, they do, all in the name of free speech.

One of the catch words you will hear from these political Moonie-like cult members, is the word tolerance. How much tolerance was shown to the Minutemen, this past week? Do these men not pay taxes? Are they not entitled to convey their message free from suppression by spoiled little rich kids that are desperately trying to get even with their parents? What have these kids done for their country? What contribution have they made to society?

The truth of the matter is, they have yet to produce anything of any real value, yet. And when they get out into that cruel and cold world, let them pull a stunt like this in the private sector, and watch what happens.

Now, I do not claim to have all of the answers here. I would be very skeptical of anyone that claims they have them all. But, talk to some MoveOn.Org members and they'll let you know real quick, they have it figured out. They have all of the answers and anyone that disagrees with them is an idiot, moron, or some other form of derogatory name.

So tell me again, how is this a sincere effort to embrace the concept of tolerance; then tell me again, how does this equate to free speech? And remember, I still have that mountain cabin, just outside Orlando, for sale. (And as a footnote, I am considering putting up my ocean beach house in Kansas up for sale as well.)