Freedom !!

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington

Freedom of speech and expression - a fundamental right of every human being...this sounds truly logical in any modern democracy. Two years have passed since I came to United States, and with every passing day the freedom enjoyed by media continues to astonish me. It doesn't matter if Tom Cruise is one of the highest paid superstars in the world, "South Park" can still claim on prime-time television that he is gay and the religion he follows is a monetary scam. It doesn't matter if George Bush happens to be the President of United States (and the most powerful man in the world, in minds of many), anyone...ANYone can bash him around on TV, compare him to a monster killing the world or just a stupid monkey who knows nothing about life. It doesn't matter if Jesus Christ has over 2 billion followers in the world, Eric Cartman can still say "F**** Jesus" on prime time television.

The important question it raises is where is the line ? How much is too much? Does the "Media" have absolute power?

The system has some provisions like the defamation lawsuits, contract killings etc. which over the years have proven to be rather ineffective. Under such circumstances, the best strategy or rather the only strategy that can be deployed is the one that Mr. Bush has realized by now...Keep your mouth shut, because you are giving them another opportunity to bash you as soon as you open the mouth.

Imagine a TV animation character in India, let's say Mowgli or Gayab Aya, does this to an Indian religion...or TV channel calling the Indian PM a stupid moron. Do you think the studio will have enough time to produce an apology episode before it is burnt down?

I am not arguing about which system is better...I aint getting into all that. All I want to say is that when everyone has the right to express his opinion, life is much more fun!

Hail the Freedom and Hail South Park!

SB