US Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Health Care Act

[kandrathe]

Does this *really* reflect your train of thinking?

Not that part. The part I was agreeing with is that a society is not a cacophony of individuals spewing whatever vitriol they desire just because they can do it. It requires us to practice restraint and tolerance -- not only in what the other person does, but in what we'd want to do as well. I'm not as worried about what happens on the TV or radio ( we keep falling off). People can choose to turn the channel if they are offended. But, what occurs in public we are all subjected to if we want to participate in the society.

Which is why I went on to clarify. Yes, I feel we have the freedom to say most anything we want. What I was clarifying was that we should have the politeness (and wisdom) to not resort to vulgarity, which is often offensive. It's our choice to offend, or not offend. But, I'd argue that society is more harmonious when we choose to be polite and attempt to think about the other people around us, and what would make them comfortable or uncomfortable. In fact, often it's the testosterone that gets in our way.

I should note that I'm using the word "vulgarity" in it's old meaning "Lacking sophistication or good taste", not merely swear words. For example, I find Bob Diamond's lack of respect in the hearing of Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee today to be vulgar.