Thursday, October 21, 2010

Is Political Correctness Killing Free Speech?

After reading the Washington Post this morning I learned that National Public Radio fired Juan Williams for the comments he had made on the Fox News Channel.  Are we at the point where political-correctness is killing free speech?

I can understand collecting a paycheck from a private company and being terminated for remarks that I may publically make that would reflect poorly on that company.  The 1st Amendment guarantees government cannot infringe upon our free speech, but NPR is partially funded through our tax dollars.  Also NPR, is a radio station that greatly enjoys its 1st Amendment Rights.

The comment that Williams made as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor was, “I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I've got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

Are they right to terminate an employee who is voicing their opinion?  I'm interested in knowing what you think.  Read the Washington Post article for yourself and let me know.  Should Juan Williams have been terminated?  Should NPR, which is partially funded by tax-dollars, be able to terminate one of their employees who were expressing their 1st Amendment Rights?



4 comments:

  1. I heard about this, and I feel that his being fired was completely unwarrented.

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  2. Especially when you consider Juan Williams' track record in standing up for civil rights. With NPR accepting public funds should they be able to fire somebody for expressing their 1st Amendment rights?

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  3. I think it was bull crap!...the guy just said what was on his mind...he wasn't trying to stir up anything. The sad thing is because he is in the media he has to always watch what he says, otherwise your going to piss someone off!

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  4. In my opinion that's part of the problem with political correctness gone crazy. If all we're allowed to talk about is, what doesn't upset, offend, or toe a certain line...then we're going to eventually have rather dull dialogue. Certainly news reporters should just do that, report the news. However, Juan Williams is a news commentator/analyst who is frequently asked for his opinion.

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