America is the Land of the Free

Round 2. Thanks for accepting this debate. If drinking booze, shooting guns, and shooting your mouth is your definition of Freedom, then almost every backward uncivilized country on earth is exactly as free as we are. From the most tumultuous parts of Africa, to war-ravaged middle East, to Eastern Europe, and Far East Afganistan. They all have have that"freedom". Let me be Clear: Those are NOT my BenchMarks for Freedom. Freedom involves the respect for autonomous decision making, and choice of values and morals. Freedom is the ability to act autonomously within the laws and framework of society which protect one another's life, liberty, property, etc.. And yes, there are limits to a person"s freedom- so that others may enjoy freedom too. The Freedom upon which this country was established, is historically of Religious Freedom, to live and think as one believes: Religious freedom, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Press. What empowers these Freedoms, and gives it bearing, is that one should be able exercise all the above free choices WITH the Guarantee that one"s life, property, rights, happiness and liberty will be Protected by Law. We all are supposed to have equal rights in Law regardless of our opinions. This is exactly where Freedom is failing today. It is the arena of Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of personal expression. If a person contradicts a Politically Correct opinion- they will be Punished. They will lose their Job, their livelihood, their property, and their rights. Here are some examples of lost freedom and censorship in the USA: 1. CNN Reporter Diana Magnay was fired recently from her job as reporter in the Middle East. Apparently she made a remark off-air in a personal capacity, in reaction to the Israelis around her who were threatening her and cheering the destruction of Palestinians. She claimed they were "scum". That remark got her fired. Firstly- she was not in a reporter"s capacity at the time of the remark. It was a personal remark. Secondly, she has every right to her own personal opinion of people around her. She lost her livelihood because she exercised her freedom of speech. And it happened to offend the Jewish lobby"s sensibility. If a reporter claimed a Palestinian was "scum" would they be fired? No. Because Palestinians are not a powerful political lobby here. 2. Bruce Levenson, NBA co-owner forced to sell his interest in a team because of an email comment that "attendees at Hawks games were 70% black, and that the crowd was scaring away whites and hurting ticket sales." There is absolutely nothing illegal about that comment. Yet he is losing his property because of it. It is the Tyranny of the Politically Correct at work here. He did nothing wrong in stating an experienced observation. The only wrong thing he did was express it. 3. Donald Sterling, another NBA owner who made private remarks to his then girlfriend, who taped the conversation. In it he asks her not to associate with Black people. This is his right to say. He did nothing wrong. He didn"t break any law by saying that in private. However, the Tyranny of the Politically Correct in our culture forced him to sell the team, and banned him for life from the NBA. This is an absolute trampling of his right to free speech and property ownership. All because of alleged racism. Is it illegal to be racist? Not the last time I checked. But you can lose your property and job because of it. 4. Anthony Cumia, a Radio personality- violently attacked in NYC Times Square- vented about the experience- OFF AIR- in private messages to people. He was attacked savagely by a group of Blacks. He called them violent savages, and postulated they attacked because he simply was white. He was Fired from his job as a result. He did nothing illegal. He expressed his personal views. And he did so privately. Yet he lost his job because of it. In this new America, if you express your beliefs and they contradict political correctness- you will be Punished with Loss of property, livelihood, and freedom of expression. Does any of this sound like the "Land of the Free" to you?.. It doesn"t to me. It sounds to me like censorship.