Freedom of Speech, at a Cost?

Welcome back folks for another exciting commute to work with the boys from Cross the Line Designs. We had a very clear view from the front seat today on the ride in, but I have to tell you ... the view was not pretty. Typically, we discuss mostly light-hearted topics that really have no great meaning or value to anyone other than us, but today ... today something really got us charged up, which is difficult to do considering we typically don't have the energy between us to skin an apple. So what had us so hot this morning?

The limits placed upon our "right" to free speech. I've actually been questioning lately whether or not we actually do live in a "free" society. Reuters reported today that a passenger was not allowed passage on a Qantas Airline (an Australian Carrier) flight because he was wearing a shirt which labelled George W. Bush as "World's number 1 terrorist." Are they kidding? When did the world get so crazy? When did we reach the point where we are disallowing a person from stating how they feel about something? Qantas released a statement following the incident that they will "not tolerate" comments made verbally or on a t-shirt which could possible offend other travelers or threaten the security of the aircraft. I can understand Qantas being concerned with things that threaten the safety of an aircraft; however, I really have to laugh at the whole protecting passengers from being offended by someone. Please .... are they for real?

Most airlines themselves base their passenger bookings upon a structure which many people find completely offensive. Don't you think it's a little two-faced for an airline to say that anything that has the potential to offend another passenger "won't be tolerated," when they're perfectly fine with accepting more money from some passengers facilitating the creating of a class structure on their flights? I fly a great deal and, although it doesn't bother me, I can tell you that there are many people who are offended by the creation (and description) of a "first class" section and a coach section. Anyway, despite the irony of the airline's statement and class structure, I find it incredibly offensive that Qantas would have the self-righteousness to declare on behalf of all people that another person's opinion on an issue is offensive and one which cannot be expressed to others.

I can say with complete certainty that I would not tolerate Qantas trying to determine on my behalf which opinions I am entitled to hear. It does not matter whether I support the person's view who wore the anti-Bush shirt, that person, regardless of how distasteful some may find his view, should (I used to think we did) have an absolute ability (I used to think it was a right) to express their view. Others are free to ignore it, agree with it or disagree with it (and express their view in return).

I strongly believe that without differing opinions (which are often controversial) and the ability to express those opinions, we will often not arrive at the best possible decisions for the planet. The ability to speak freely is one of the fundamental principles that free society is supposed to have been built upon. There will likely always be people who try to stifle this, particularly when they are of an opposing view. These are the people (like Qantas) who are acting offensively. Lucky for me, I am one of the partners in Cross the Line Designs, who, among other things, designs and markets t-shirts that express viewpoints which may be considered controversial by some. Prior to this, we had not ventured into the world of politics. However, Qantas has inspired me to branch out into this area ... because I'll be damned if someone's going to try to tell me what opinions I'm entitled to hear or what views I'm entitled to express. If I think a certain way, I'm going to say it and I expect that others will do the same. To do otherwise and still claim we enjoy freedom of speech or live in a free society is naive.

Anyway, I felt the need to protect my freedom today, inspiring the creation of a few new designs, like the "Save freedom" and "Are we really free?" shirts along the right hand side of this blog or at our store front.