These are the faces of Free Enterprise. Capitalism still gives more opportunity to more of the people than any other system we’ve seen.

Hat tip Bitter

I want to take a look a little earlier in the comment, where the writer says “It is not only possible, but likely that these people think the Second Amendment makes it legal to shoot someone who disagrees with you for violating your First amendment right to free speech.”

Sorry, buddy, it’s not us that go ballistic when someone disagrees with us. You are completely entitled to your opinions, and as much as I disagree with them, I will fight as long as I can to defend that right. It’s the Left that is usually complaining that OUR free speech somehow infringes on theirs. It’s the left that complained that the Dixie Chicks boycotts where an infringement of their speech, instead of an exercise of ours.

There seems to be a tendency, seemingly more pronounced in the left, to consider any act of disagreement as hate, a suppression of free speech, or something worth shooting people over. I have opinions, and inherant in that is thinking that people that hold differing opinions are wrong. And guess what? They think I am wrong, too. Who cares? Learn to live with the idea that there are people out there that think you are wrong.

Disagreeing with people isn’t hate. Trying to change their minds, or sway public opinion isn’t suppressing free speech, it is exercising it. You want to call me America’s Taliban, fine, but be prepared to back it up, because I am going to exercise my right to free speech, as well. You want to accuse me of wanting to shoot people that disagree, that’s your right, but that’s not how I work, and not how most, or all, of the people I know work. Be careful what you accuse people of, not because we might get violent, don’t worry, I won’t, but people unable to back those sorts of allegations end up looking foolish.

See, the smoking ban is good for me. I don’t smoke, and can’t stand the smell. In fact, there is at least one pretty good restaurant that I won’t go to, because I end up smelling like a chimney for the rest of the work day. After the ban takes effect next summer, I will be able to eat there without that concern.

Yet I oppose the ban. To me, a business should be free to choose that the business that they get from smokers is more valuable than the business they lose from people like me that don’t want to smell it. Likewise, a growing number of businesses realize that there are a lot more people that don’t smoke, and make their establishments smoke free to try to draw them in. It may cost some dollars from smokers, but they made a business decision that they were better off without it. I don’t have an inherent right to a smoke free environment in any restaurant I want to go to, and smokers don’t have a right to light up wherever they want. Restaurants can, and have, set rules on smoking, and that has worked pretty well.

I believe we should let the market decide this one, and it was good to hear a lot of people agreed with that. Let’s hope that more people start looking at things that way, and start holding poiticians to that standard.

Here’s the thing about rights… we don’t have to explain it to the government when we choose to exercise them.  I don’t have to justify my blathering on this blog and the overall societal value because I have a right to speak freely.  I don’t have to explain it to my government when I assert my 5th amendment right against self-incrimination.  I don’t have to justify my right to due process or to assemble in protest.  And I don’t have to explain myself if I want to strap a sidearm to my hip and go about my business.  It’s my RIGHT. – Owen, Boots & Sabers

Amen.

If you give a pacifist a gun, you can still kill him with a baseball bat. He won’t shoot you, won’t raise his hands against you, won’t defend his own miserable life. He will stand there and die even though he has the very means to resist. – Robb

I’d be disappointed if what I’ve said on my blog didn’t offend someone. – Mike W, in the comments

It’s easy to say “Free speech doesn’t equal hate speech!”  It sounds very nice and pleasing and respectful.

Unfortunately, sometimes that’s EXACTLY what free speech means — it means that your ideological enemy has the right to say exactly what you hate. – Lissa

Guess what, guys. Protecting free speech is all about. You don’t need your right to talk about springtime, sunshine and fuzzy bunnies BECAUSE IT DOESN’T OFFEND ANYONE. OK, maybe a couple of people, but not enough to have that speech infringed on. The right of free speech is about saying things that others would want to silence someone on. Trampling on speech because it is against someone’s beliefs is wrong. The civil rights movement was contrary to the beliefs of a lot of racists, good thing we didn’t shut them up because they might offend someone.

My advice to American freedom lovers: Buy more guns and ammo, and join the National Rifle Association. – Ted Nugent

Hat tip Alan