Prophet Muhammad Halloween Costume to be Outlawed in NYC

Unfortunately, Bloomberg and the Obama administration come from a place that is very consistent with the political direction we've been moving towards.

Consider Bloomberg...

You can't, for example, demand that health care be an entitlement without surrendering power over the very personal decisions about what you eat and do with your body.  If the cost for your health care is to be shared with your neighbor, your neighbor rightfully has an interest in your lifestyle choices.

Obama's response to the middle east protests and violence is similarly consistent. 

We live in a place where many of us are increasingly demanding a right to feel good about ourselves and when we don't, we demand government action.  Indeed, speech is increasingly being restricted in response to these demands.

Valedictorian speeches must be approved to avoid offending religious sensibilities.  Kids wearing T-Shirts with the American flag are sent home because they may offend fellow students celebrating Cinco de Mayo. 

Lest you think that abridging speech only occurs in schools, lets not forget the attacks directed towards speech because a lunatic shot Gabby Giffords.  Within hours of the shooting, pundits, politicians and commentators had established that conservative radio voices and cable news personalities were at fault.

The message here is clear. There are those that have come to believe that free speech causes people to have low self esteem and act violently and therefore ought to be restricted.

Is it any surprise that a piece of crap video is to blame for unrest in the Middle East and that mainstream pundits have suggested that the producer be held accountable?

The streets should indeed be occupied right now. They should be occupied by everyone who takes offense at a Nanny State.

There is nothing more personal than what you put in your body and there is nothing more sacrosanct in this cultural than religious and political speech. 

Yet here we are.

In a country that once rightly decided that abolishing booze was a bad idea, the Mayor of an American city makes selling a 32 ounce Coke unlawful.

In a country that once truly cherished diversity, we're killing it.  You see, diversity is not about 'celebrating' differences, its about civilly tolerating those differences despite the fact that they may bug the snot out of you. 

That's true tolerance. Its the kind of tolerance that our founders demanded when they declared that the government shall make no law...

Alas, we're not tolerant. The mention of God by a young girl during graduation or the wearing of American flag by young men is something that can cause offense and is prohibited.

And now? The making of a film with a religious statement (albeit insensitive) actually causes violence around the world.  Surely such speech should be prohibited too.

When exactly do we stand up? When do we surround the government and its patrons and declare, "Enough!".

Do we wait until the pulpits are censored because this group or that is hurt by the message?  Perhaps it will occur when your local radio station is forced to carry an hour of Olbermann for every hour of Levine. Or will it take being taxed into a diet of rice and broccoli to finally get us wrapped around an axle?

I have no idea what that trigger is, but I do know that our American heritage is not what makes us free.  In fact, American freedom reached a zenith a long time ago and has been in a steepening decline for decades. 

More, that decline will continue until a line is crossed and outrage is expressed.

The real question is if will we be smart of enough to express that outrage when it is still lawful to do so, or if will we wait until we must become 'criminals' to defend ourselves from an oppressive state?

I pray that we act soon, in a time when action does not require violence.  I pray that we act peacefully and forcefully now so that we don't leave future generations with a bloody fight to restore what was long ago declared to be self evident truths.