McMahon: Tongue lashing
Feb 10, 2011, 8:31 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2012, 3:27 am
Yes, yes, yes. I believe in free speech. In fact, I’m such a zealot about it that I probably believe in freer speech than most. I think people should be able to say anything or write anything that is not directly harmful to anyone else.
But I don’t have to like it, do I? This is on my mind right now because of one of the comments written in response to the news story about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ speech returning, a month after she was shot.
She asked for “toast” one morning. Do we all comprehend just how phenomenal that is? Yet, the self-appointed social critic observed, “Many common people are going through this also. If she were not a member of the elite then we wouldn’t care, would we?”
We wouldn’t care? Yes, we would — because she’s a fellow human being struggling courageously. Does emotional impotency really prevent some people from joining the rest of us in celebrating the tiny triumphs of others? If they can’t feel deeply for how far Gabby has come — to me, they’re toast.
