why yes it is. Article the third [Amendment I] Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
... and you can't yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theatre so obviously there is some wriggle room from this absolute that you assert.
don't be such a hiccup, i asserted nothing, i inserted an article of the bill of rights, written by our forefathers. don't hate on america, please.
Are you asserting that it is okay to yell "FIRE!" in a crowded movie theatre? Go try it... Somebody already, as you say, "hated on America" because the law exists. I didn't utter it into existence. Get real.
what? are you an automaton? what are you spinning? the only assertion's i've made were that you were a hiccup and can't think for yourself. oh, i also asserted my foot in your ass, metaphorically.
A lot of "art" just sucks these days. I wonder if these "artists" have ever held a paint brush. I want to Musuem of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and was just dumbfounded by the complete lack of talent these artists have. A plain cardboard box is considered "art". There was some artist that had a blank piece of canvas hanging from a wall. Even my wife - who has a fine art degree - had to admit that most of the stuff was a joke. Ann Coulter is at right ,at the very least, about the quality of a lot of of what is considered "art" these days. "Shock and awe" can create some buzz for a young artist - especially if he or she lacks any talent. How much of US govt/etc. was founded on Christian principals - wasn't there also major influence from Greco-Roman ideas too?
just to be clear, artists are the zeitgeist. are you people asserting that americans aren't as good as they used to be? again, please, with sugar on top, don't hate on america.
No, between the two of us I'd say I'm the only one thinking. We have two things that you would assert are mutually exclusive (Free Speech and Fire Speech) yet they both definitely exist and you are asserting that that is unAmerican much less impossible. I believe it has been that way for a long, long time. Maybe you should tone down your accusation and put on your thinking cap?
for fook's sake giddy, i'd be glad to put on my thinking cap if you agree to learn the english language.
Uhh...yeah, that is exactly my point. You are always five steps ahead of me and my feebleness. langal, There is no art.
Art is not the same as shouting "Fire" in a crowded theatre. Shouting Fire is dangerous. This art is not dangerous. I will be the first to say that I don't think I would like any of the art exhibits mentioned, thought I would have to see them in person to really judge. People who go to the fire don't go there to have someone shout fire and start a stampede. People who go to the art exhibits do go there to see art. If people don't want to see those exhibits they don't have to go. But I am glad that artists have the opportunity to create whatever they feel they should create. Nearly everything that Coulter mentioned is a celebration of our freedom and things that make America great. Christians are allowed to practice our religion freely. We don't have anyone telling us we can't. Her article misrepresents the way NEA funds are handed out for the purpose of causing a scene, and her examples are idiotic.
Friday night I'm going nowhere All the lights are changing green to red Turning over TV stations Situations running through my head Well looking back through time You know it's clear that I've been blind I've been a fool To ever open up my heart To all that jealousy, that bitterness, that ridicule Saturday I'm running wild And all the lights are changing red to green Moving through the crowd I'm pushing Chemicals all rushing through my bloodstream Only wish that you were here You know I'm seeing it so clear I've been afraid To tell you how I really feel Admit to some of those bad mistakes I've made If you want it Come and get it Crying out loud The love that I was Giving you was Never in doubt Let go your heart Let go your head And feel it now Babylon, Babylon Sunday all the lights of London Shining , Sky is fading red to blue I'm kicking through the Autumn leaves And wondering where it is you might be going to Turning back for home You know I'm feeling so alone I can't believe Climbing on the stair I turn around to see you smiling there In front of me If you want it Come and get it Crying out loud The love that I was Giving you was Never in doubt And feel it now Let go your heart Let go your head And feel it now Let go your heart Let go your head And feel it now Let go your heart Let go your head And feel it now Let go your heart Let go your head And feel it now Babylon, Babylon, Babylon
If one is going to claim the free speech argument for art then they are the same due to that regard. The issue is a mis-use of public money for offensive art- they are often not using their own money. They are using other people's money-- some of which came from taxpayers. So the criticism should fall on the institution that enables the offensive art rather than the "artist" who creates it. The sum is the same: it ain't worth it and it is offensive to the community.
If that is not your point, have the gumption to tell me it's not and to tell me (us) what the hell your point is. I'm not interested in trying to guess what you are trying to get across with your cryptograms. Is my previoius conclusion that off-base?
Stick to your guns Giddy. Compact, synonymous with covenant...as in the Bible, God's promise to the human race. Besides, how many covenants did God sign with his people? ------------------------------------------ The Declaration of Independence, signed by the delegates to the Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, stated that, "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, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men...." The Declaration of Independence acknowledges that mankind is created and that the Creator God bestows the rights. That means, that no man can take them away, and that government, instituted by God, is to protect those rights. By implication, government cannot deprive a person of those rights absent due process of law. Thus, God gave mankind free will, and a function of government is to protect the electorates exercise of free will. That is a Christian concept. The denominational affiliation of these men is a matter of public record. Among the delegates were 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown and only 3 deists--Williamson, Wilson and Franklin, this at a time when church membership entailed a sworn public confession of biblical faith. This is a very revealing tally. It means that the members of the Constitutional Convention, the most influential group of men shaping the political foundations of our nation, were almost all Christians, 51 of 55--a full 93%. Indeed, nearly 20% were Calvinists (the Presbyterians and the Dutch Reformed), considered by some to be the most extreme and dogmatic form of Christianity. As such, the founding fathers expressed their Christian beliefs or recognition in the value of Christian principles as fundamental to the nation. The United States of America is a Christian nation. A nation is an aggregation of people bound together "by common ideals and a common purpose. A rich inheritance of memories and the desire to preserve those memories ... a nation is a spiritual entity brought into existence by complex historical conditions, by similar traditions and a similar imagination." A nation is not produced by a common language, race, religion or geographical outline, but these things may contribute to the unity of a people - a nation. The Jewish people were a "nation" during the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness but they had no land of their own. America is a Christian nation. This does not mean that all the people were or are Christian. It merely means that there was a Christian consensus and all our founding documents, laws, moral codes and institutions are based on Christian principles from the Bible. From Other Founding Fathers: "Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the council of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States.." "...Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency". From President George Washington's Inaugural Address, April 30th, 1789, addressed to both Houses of Congress "Except the Lord build the house, They labor in vain who build it." "I firmly believe this." Benjamin Franklin, 1787, Constitutional Convention "We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations, and will raise up friends for us. The battle is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave . . . Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry, in a speech March 23, 1775. It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here. Patrick Henry "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams from his Oct. 13, 1789 address to the military. Samuel Adams, cousin of John Adams, is called the "Father of the American Revolution." He incited the Boston Tea Party, signed the Declaration of Independence and called for the first Continental Congress. He said as the Declaration of Independence was being signed, "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come." Alexander Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton said made America great: (1) Christianity, and (2) a Constitution formed under Christianity. Only Hamilton's death two months later thwarted his plan of starting a missionary society to promote Christian government. Thomas Jefferson, on his memorial: "God who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that the liberties are the gift of God?" 2 Corinthians 3:17: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." Now how American is that?
I am sticking to my significant guns. I'm willing to surrender the use of the word "compact" because it doesn't gut the point I would want to make. Whether it was a signed document or a solemn promise is relatively unimportant to me.
Again the money doesn't necessarily go to the individual artists responsible. But it isn't a valid point anyway. My tax dollars are going to fund the war in Iraq. I don't know if anyone has noticed but I don't agree with the war in Iraq, and I believe it is fundamentally un-American. Nevertheless my tax dollars go to keep it going. They end up being wasted, as well as ending up in companies like Haliburton. It is better that govt. never get in the business of deciding what art is good art. It is better that the govt. fund it, and leave the distribution of the art up to artists and people involved in art. Having govt. decide what art is worthwhile leads to censorship and piss-poor art. Sometimes poor quality art comes out anyway, but at least it has a fighting chance.
