{"id":462,"date":"2014-04-05T05:14:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-05T10:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=462"},"modified":"2016-11-11T13:55:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T18:55:05","slug":"freedom-of-speech-oh-hush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/04\/freedom-of-speech-oh-hush\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom of Speech? Oh Hush."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"File:United<\/a><\/p>\n

A friend of mine works at a public school in a conservative, overwhelmingly Evangelical Christian community.\u00a0 She told me that she feared for her job if the other staff found out she is in favor of legalized abortion.<\/p>\n

I was appalled.\u00a0 I think my friend is terribly, terribly wrong on the question of abortion.\u00a0 But still, it seemed wrong to me that a government employee might be fired for favoring the existing laws of that very government.<\/p>\n

Which I suppose shows you again how hopelessly American I am.\u00a0 I tend to view the Bill of Rights as something near to sacred in part because of the education I received at home and school.\u00a0 Freedom was in the water we drank and the air we breathed.\u00a0 It was normal. It was worth dying for.<\/p>\n

Part of that view, though, is also due to my limited knowledge of history: I really can\u2019t think of a scenario where persecution and political oppression turned out to be good for anybody.<\/p>\n

Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion come to fisticuffs every now and again, and I\u2019m fully in favor of religious groups being able to hire and fire in light of their religious practices.\u00a0 I would never stand for a Lutheran church being told they had to keep the newly-converted Catholic on pay as their pastor, and give him the pulpit every Sunday to tell the congregation why Lutherans are dead wrong after all. There\u2019s a balance here.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m all about boycotts, because, daughter of the Civil Rights movements.\u00a0 Not buying things?\u00a0 Or buying things from a supplier whose values better align with mine<\/a>?\u00a0 I\u2019m an American: All problems can be solved through better shopping, right?<\/p>\n

So I would understand if there were a groundswell movement to boycott Firefox because the company were funding objectionable practices.\u00a0 But to campaign to fire an employee \u2014 even a high level employee \u2014 for privately supporting a particular political view on a ballot amendment?<\/p>\n

No. Just no.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand how someone who knows just how deadly, how terrifying it is, to be subject to the evils of persecution for holding a minority view, can turn around and say that a man ought to lose his job for holding the wrong opinions.<\/p>\n

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is this not true?<\/p>\n

And if it is true, is it not because there is some fundamental right to the respect of our fellow men?\u00a0 Do we not all have certain inalienable rights for the simple reason that we are human?\u00a0 Or is discrimination based on religion or political opinion to be the new normal now<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Public Domain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend of mine works at a public school in a conservative, overwhelmingly Evangelical Christian community.\u00a0 She told me that she feared for her job if the other staff found out she is in favor of legalized abortion. I was appalled.\u00a0 I think my friend is terribly, terribly wrong on the question of abortion.\u00a0 But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[162,86,110,6],"tags":[8,479,55,53,17,23,32],"class_list":["post-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-marriage","category-rant-o-rama","category-stick-that-corner","tag-catechesis","tag-evangelization","tag-forgiveness-2","tag-gay-marriage","tag-non-catholics","tag-papal-economics","tag-what-would-jesus-do"],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom of Speech? 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