There is very little for free in this world today and the price for freedom comes with a high price tag. At face value these costs are not really that apparent so let us dissect the many facets that go to make up freedom as we know it today. Freedom goes hand in hand with rights. To protect freedom there must be rights put into place and to ensure these rights are abided by they must be enacted into law. Freedom of speech: Not many years ago this was not one of our rights, one dare not question authority, either in speech or with the written word. Freedom of speech covers a multitude of actions and reactions. Newspapers use this right to print almost anything that the public will buy, most newspapers stay within the boundaries of decency although in their quest for readership they overlook the feelings of the people they write about and there is very little can be done legally or otherwise. A good example is Bill Clintons indiscretions, many will agree that under the circumstances he deserves the publicity he got but one of the costs is the embarrassment to his family and to the office of the Presidency, this a high price to pay for the innocent. Tabloids are another example of using the right to free speech to print trash and smut that is available to anyone who wants to purchase it, the problem is that it is also available to children. Because children are the most impressionable and also the most vulnerable we will emphasize the high cost to them. One of the problems with hard news is the fallout that sometimes occurs when a child in an unstable state of mind commits a crime like a shooting spree in school and you are faced with the copycat syndrome and the same crime is repeated over and over again. Remember the first high-jacking of an airplane? That started a rash that still goes on today. Newspapers are not to blamed for this, it is the price one must pay for the right to free speech. Sorry but there is no line that anyone can draw. Free speech also includes the film industry, television, rock concerts indoors and out in the open, heavy metal, video games etc. While many of these are both educational and informative many suggest violence or half naked painted up expressions of maniacal gesturing and crude prancing. To see if there is a cost to young people one must compare the youth of yesterday, prior to television and video games, and the youth of today. The use of drugs, smoking, teenage pregnancies, alcohol, disrespect for society and multiple marriages or just straight shacking up was almost non-existent to yesterday’s youth. There has to be some way of lowering this cost to our freedom as the price is too high. There are many of our youth, in fact the majority, who will become excellent citizens and we have no worries about them, but there is still the unacceptable high number that need our help. Can we still enact laws and at the same time protect the precious freedoms that we have worked so hard for? Of course this can be done by making sure the people we elect to manage our affairs in government are the right people. Write to your MPs and your MLAs, tell them to wise up or else. |