Listen, the First Amendment guarantees you freedom of speech, certainly.

That freedom it’s protecting is freedom from *government* censorship. You are free to say whatever you want without *government* persecution. You are not protected from criticism of others though. And yes a person or company can refuse you based on what you say because they are not the government.

The First Amendment gives you a broad right of expression, but that means it also bestows a great *responsibility* to self-regulate the ideas and thoughts you express.

So, please stop claiming that this is America and you can say whatever you want and expect that to protect you from being held responsible for the words that tumble from your slack jaw.

[image source: http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/first.gif]

How am I supposed to be proud to be an American…

So, the US military now has the ability to detain any of us, so long as they can paint us with a wide brush as a “terrorist”, in an undisclosed place for an indefinite amount of time.

Next, our government wants to create the first restrictions on our most powerful free and open communication technologies. And they want to give the power to squelch those communications not only to our elected officials, but to CORPORATE entities.

This is how dystopian stories start. Seriously. We are living through the moments where the US becomes a corporately sponsored police state.

American Healthcare and Capitalism

I have long been doubtful of capitalism. Keep in mind that I did not just say that I have long been anti-America. Based on my research, capitalism is not a core American value, it is merely an American tradition. I think innovation and an ability to disregard harmful anachronisms are key values. And I don’t feel less American for it.

I love this country. I think up until the last decade or two, it was easy for people to say America is the best country on Earth. I think America can get it back. We just need to shrug off the burdens of recent history and look to the future with hope.

Here are my sources for this video:
The Constitution
Frontline “Sick Around the World”