A friend of mine asked me to sign a petition to remove a page called “I Hate Dogs” from Facebook. Now the person that made the request is someone that I have known for decades, although we don’t really socialize much anymore. In fact, I haven’t seen her for years, although if she were to call to ask a favor that was in my power to grant, I would most likely do it. I’m a firm believer in the Golden Rule, and also in old friends. I also like dogs, although I don’t have one right now, and don’t really understand how anyone could possibly hate a dog. They mostly just want to please us.
But I just couldn't bring myself to sign the petition. For one thing, I doubt if it would work. Considering the plunge in the value of Facebook’s stock, I don’t think they can afford to get rid of anyone at this point, even if the group in question espouses an asinine philosophy involving hatred of a species that is commonly known as “Man’s Best Friend”. In the spirit of fair play, I went to the page in question. I didn't spend too much time there; most posts included a variety of misspellings, bad grammar, and basic mental vomitus. But the sad truth is this: you have the right to be an idiot in this country (indeed, viewing the slate of people vying for political office in our fair land, it may even be a prerequisite). Furthermore, I support your right to idiocy wholeheartedly.
Not that I wish it weren't so. Imagine what a fabulous world this would be if all of its inhabitants shared my views of fair play, equality, justice and pursuit of the truth! However, I know for a fact that there are people who do not share my views (heretics and fools to be sure, but they do exist and their numbers are large). If their aim is to remove me, or remove my voice from the general conversation, rest assured that I would fight them to my last breath. But they have the same right to their opinion as I have to mine. The one thing that I cannot support is censorship.
Ay, there’s the rub, as The Bard of Avon would say. There’s a whole lot of people that I wish would just shut-the-f**k-up. Take my district’s current U.S. Congressman for example. I just watched his ad on TV where he speaks of being a cancer survivor, and how it’s personal for him to see that all Americans with cancer are treated. Yet he has also said that he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which might just be the only way that millions of Americans have a ghost of a chance to receive needed treatment. I’ll tell you what’s personal, dude. My brother, who worked for years as a self-employed paint contractor and couldn't afford health insurance, died from cancer a little over four years ago. That’s personal you moron! Not that I’m bitter about it or anything. But my Congressman (who has much better health insurance than almost everyone else) has the right to spew nonsense across the airwaves, just as I have the right to do my best to make sure that he is no longer my Congressman next year.
In fact, politicians have more opportunity than ever to spew whatever they think (or at least what they think will get them elected) thanks to the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. FEC case that says anonymous money is free speech. I tend to think that free speech is one thing and well-funded propaganda is something else entirely. But where is the line drawn? Who should be able to make the call? The Supreme Court has clearly demonstrated that it is no longer an impartial body of jurists, but has been undermined by political philosophy. In reality it has always been swayed by the underlying beliefs of the nine justices since they must, by necessity, interpret the Constitution, deciding how new laws and situations fit into that cherished document’s guidelines. It is clear to me that one of our President’s most important jobs is making appointments to the Supreme Court. Therefore it is extremely important to choose the person that will make the best choices possible, since it is typical for Supreme Court justices to far outlast the President that appointed them.
Our system of government is becoming an increasingly polarized institution that appears to have forgotten that they are elected to serve the people of our country. Unfortunately, our citizens include groups of illiterate dog-haters as well as billionaires that favor tax cuts for the extremely wealthy, even if it shatters the economy in the process. Our citizenry also includes millions of kind, thoughtful people, but we don’t hear much from them. That’s too bad, because it’s this group that needs to express itself more forcefully.
Maybe we should start a new political party. Call it the Dog Party, designed to serve the needs of those whose hearts are big enough to provide care and comfort for our canine companions. But we’d probably need another name for it, since these folks should be kind enough to see the need to include cat owners as well. Of course we can’t forget tropical fish…and ferrets…hamsters…ah hell, it’s tough to please everyone.
“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
―Charles de Gaulle
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