A few random thoughts on Freedom, July 4th and what it means to be an American.
FREEDOM is a gift. Like most gifts, it can be used or abused in any number of ways. For example, I just bought myself a gift...a Sony DSC-H7 digital camera. Now I can use it take pictures (as it is intended) or I can use it to hammer in nails. Given the price, I'll opt for the picture taking, thank you very much.
Similarly, our court system is also a gift associated with the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. I want the system used to punish those who harm others...I want rapists jailed for life...I want white collar criminals to do real time...I want society's children protected from molesters. What I don't want in the court system used as a blunt instrument of revenge, used by some with a hint of legal knowledge as a way to bully others who are simply guilty of being mildly incompetent.
FREE SPEECH is also a gift. I want to be able to pubically call Dick Cheyne the worst vice president in this country's history without the thread of secret police coming along and killing my cat Thurber in revenge. Similarly, I want Joe Pilchesky to be able to proclaim Chris Doherty as being the worst Mayor in Scranton's history without being arrested. That's his right as an American. That freedom doesn't, however, give him license to proclaim (though his actions in inactions...by failing to delete posts on his website), for example, that the Mayor is having an affair with another woman. That's not freedom of speech...it's slander intended soley to harm another person and their family.
WE ARE ALL AMERICANS. I confess that it bothers me when I hear the term 'African American'. Why? Because I'd like to believe that we are all Americans first. Similarly, the whole Irish Catholic Network thing at DD reeks of ethnic and religion-bashing (especially when the Jesuits come into the discussion). This notion of drawing distinctions between Americans based on such tawdry things where one's ancestors came from is just plain stupid and goes against what we should stand for as Americans.
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Free Speech does't require a multi-paragrah disclaimer Mr. Pilchesky.
I want everyone to stop and think about one thing ... Joe Pilchesky is not a lawyer ... he's just a guy playing a lawyer on the internet. Please don't trust your legal needs to this man.
I'm sure you aren't alone in that thought Art ... I'll bet there are many politicians in Scranton and Lackawanna County that would love to see him exercise that same right!
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I want everyone to stop and think about one thing ... Joe Pilchesky is not a lawyer ... he's just a guy playing a lawyer on the internet. Please don't trust your legal needs to this man.
