Do NOT be deceived! -OR- I can say whatever the f*k I like!

Words have NO meaning, and you are FREE to yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater. (I write sarcastically in the first instance, and seriously in the second. For you are free – however, your freedom must not be used as an excuse to trespass upon another.)

And remember… whatever you say makes no difference.

You can say or write anything you want without consequences.

For example, this phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” means absolutely nothing. (The reader should understand that the previous remarks were sarcastic.)

The only problem is, that if you want to dance to the tune of that piper or fiddler (the “I can say anything I want” piper), that you must pay. And in such a case, it turns out that the fiddler or piper is Hell to pay.

And then, anything you say, can, and will be used against you. (The reader will recognize part of the Miranda warning.)

Words have meanings, and consequences.

If you are in a position of responsibility or authority, your voice has power. People will heed what you say. We speak and write to communicate. Ultimately, the purpose of speech and communication is to identify that we want something.

Rest assured, however, not everyone will agree with you.

Responsibility… that is, being responsible to and for others, answerable or accountable to or for a thing or person, begins first with the individual.

Yet, such disagreement is not now, nor has it ever been license to say anything without regard for what consequences may result.

Inciting insurrection, inciting riot, fomenting discord – those are all cases of creating a sense of disturbance and unrest by words.

Words – even those spoken by a madman – have meaning.

Examine this excerpt from the United States Code, TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 41 > § 871

(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully threatens to kill, kidnap, or
    inflict bodily harm upon -
        (1) a former President or a member of the immediate family of a
      former President;
        (2) a member of the immediate family of the President, the
      President-elect, the Vice President, or the Vice President-elect;
        (3) a major candidate for the office of President or Vice
      President, or a member of the immediate family of such candidate;
      or
        (4) a person protected by the Secret Service under section
      3056(a)(6);

    shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5
    years, or both

In previous years, it was considered that any individual whom threatened the President, Vice President, their immediate family and the individuals mentioned in the preceding excerpted law were considered lunatic – that is, they had some serious mental disease, defect or deficit that prevented and incapacitated them from knowing the difference from right and wrong, and following the good, just and right. Thus, they could not be held  accountable for their actions, because they were NOT in their “right mind.”

Increasingly, in this nation, we have come to not merely endure, but to praise and encourage venom and vitriol in public and private discourse. The general and gradual coarsening of our interactions with one another bespeaks and portends an even more serious degradation.

And it is of the cheapening of life.