The usual Open Thread rules apply: be concise, be charitable, and, above all, be amusing!
Open Thread
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
When I was a kid, it was common for people to say “I can say what I think, it’s a free country!” whenever given grief for holding an unpopular opinion.
I honestly cannot recall the last time I’ve heard anyone use that expression. It might be decades ago…
I’ll still say it, but I qualify it either with “ostensibly” or “it’s still allegedly a free country!”
What I have found, as everyone here has encountered as well, is the “right” to be offended has been superseding free expression in our culture in recent years. How long this has been going on is debatable…since the 90’s? Earlier?