Hi Zythyra
I agree that children (and the rest of us) should be free to openly and safely express themselves, and I pray that this will come to pass soon. I also agree with all the points stated in the video's bill of rights. My problem is the political game of how things are presented.
As a citizen, I have a duty to consider the welfare of the public and our society at large. I also have the freedom to express myself as I see fit without fear of government reprisal...the so-called Free Speech Amendment in our US Bill of Rights. I also must understand that my protection for free speech only applies to the government, not to society at large. This means that while I am free to say anything I want, there is no "Right" for people not to react strongly if they disagree with what was said (short of harming my person or property). That is the tricky part.
Our culture is bombarded constantly by special interest group after special interest group...each one shouting and demanding to be heard. It seems as if the only way to make yourself heard is to find a sympathetic ear in the press and make some outrageous statement warning of doom and gloom or make an arrogant in-your-face protest with plenty of signs for the photo-op. We will never change anyone's mind with those kind of activities...nobody does...all they do is preach to the choir and piss off everyone else.
We must change people's hearts and minds. I tolerate a lot of things and don't raise a fuss because that is what I have to do to survive in society, but I accept only special few. Our goal is not to have Tolerance, but rather to gain Acceptance. We can use more videos like this...explaining...educating...stirring emotions. These are good things and we should seek every opportunity possible to make them as widely available as possible. We must be careful, however, to understand that people who haven't been made aware and thus may not support our position are not bad people. They are not the enemy. They should not be belittled or scorned because they don't agree with us, (this applies especially to the ones who have seen the material and disagree for other reasons). The minute you take the discussion away from the issue and begin attacking the person or organization instead of the idea they expressed, you lose. Period. End of Game. No matter how noble your cause, you just lost. In order to win our goal, we must always be respectful of those who disagree. We must present our comments and rebuttals in such a manner that even those that disagree cannot help but respect us for our intellectual honesty and integrity. We gain those things and we begin to win the hearts of people. That's our goal isn't it? To be understood and allowed to live as anyone else without being threatened or harmed? Isn't that what everyone wants, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, hair color, height, weight, whether they are rich or poor or prefer a PC or Mac?
Just my opinion...(the right one of course!
)...you have your own and that's a good thing too.
....Laurie
