tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post113588349529802277..comments2023-09-06T08:56:14.610-04:00Comments on Eidelblog: Freedom of thought: it's most dangerous to the stateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-1136138897228616942006-01-01T13:08:00.000-05:002006-01-01T13:08:00.000-05:00"Have so few of us read Orwell's 1984, do so few o..."Have so few of us read Orwell's 1984, do so few of us remembered the several millennia of recorded human history, that we do not see the slippery slope of government outlawing one thought, then another, then another, under the pretense of saving ourselves from 'wrong thinking'?" <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, "outlawing" the way one thinks is already present in the US. So called "hate crimes" legislation already does so for its purpose is not to punish one's deed but the utterance of some thought that has become politically incorrect. I am not arguing that using racial slurs or misogynistic language is acceptable in public. But I do want to point out the shear hypocrisy of the legislation and how someone might wind up with 15-20 extra years of imprisonment for their "thoughts". Voltaire would surely shudder at this Orwellian twist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-1135915361148430782005-12-29T23:02:00.000-05:002005-12-29T23:02:00.000-05:00Mr. Eidelbus:Apparently the Turkish/totalitarian d...Mr. Eidelbus:<BR/><BR/>Apparently the Turkish/totalitarian disease is spreading, since I ran across this report of France doing the same thing: <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1649377,00.html" REL="nofollow"> <I>Rapper may be jailed for calling France a slut</I></A> [Link from Reason Online's Brickbats column this week or last].<BR/><BR/>Sadly, the answer to your (rhetorical?) question: "<I>Have so few of us read Orwell's 1984, do so few of us remembered the several millennia of recorded human history, that we do not see the slippery slope of government outlawing one thought, then another, then another, under the pretense of saving ourselves from 'wrong thinking'?</I>" appears to be yes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com