Post #5. Do as I say, not as I do.

Do as I say, not as I do.

I remember my parents saying that when I was a kid, and boy did I hate it. You never understand when you’re younger that your brain just isn’t at the same capacity yet as an adult’s, or that you haven’t yet gained the maturity to deal with the same issues that adults face. However, there are some things that even as adults we shouldn’t be doing, and we’re punishing them for it.

http://www.latimes.com/technology/sns-ap-us-tec-distracted-driving,0,2759944.story

We tell our kids that texting or talking on the phone while driving or in other inappropriate situations is wrong, yet adults apparently are the ones needing a behavioral adjustment. According to this article, a recent Pew Research Center study shows that “…adults and teenagers are equally likely to have texted while driving. And adults are more likely to have chatted on their phones while driving.” How many of us in this class have done exactly this while preaching to everyone who’ll listen that it’s a dangerous thing to do? *raises hand*

And this is only one of the things that we as Americans have a tendency to be two-faced about. Think about Carly Reust’s post on swear words, particularly the part about how we as adults use them but expect kids to do as they’re told (and not as adults do).

We also often tell our kids that, unequivocally, our ways are the only ways. Many of the issues in intellectual freedom today might not be issues if we taught our kids openness and acceptance early on in their lives. I’m not saying that many parents don’t do that now, but I still see many who shoot down kids’ thoughts and questions, and it’s bloody hard to unlearn behaviors after you’ve practiced them for so many years. For example, I’m ashamed to say that, growing up, my family was very closed-minded on matters of race and sexual orientation. If I had held to those values and not opened my own eyes during college, I would have missed out on some pretty special friends.

And the biggest lie we’re told as kids? “You’ll understand when you get older.” Bah. I’m in my thirties now, and I’m still waiting to understand.

Post #4. Here a law, there a law, everywhere a law law!

We’ve spent a lot of time in this class talking about new laws, laws that should be, laws that shouldn’t be, why we do or don’t need X, Y, or Z law. Don’t you ever want to just ditch the whole thing and start all over again?

Well, to a much lesser degree, that’s what Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is talking about in his platform for governor. He has proposed a state Office of the Repealer, “whose job it would be to start disposing of all the silly, needless, over-the-top regulations that state officials have dreamed up.” I’m not saying that laws to protect children from stalkers are a bad idea, but I do think that yes, we’ve gone a little overboard in law-ing this and outlaw-ing that. This isn’t an original concept either; according to the article, both Missouri and Michigan are repealing some out-of-date statutes.

You might be wondering why, in an intellectual freedom blog, I’m writing about doing -away- with laws instead of adding new ones to protect our rights. Well, think about how the First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” When the First Amendment was first written and signed into effect, the people who wrote it had no concept of a computer or internet predators. I don’t think that they imagined that freedom of religion could include those who don’t even HAVE a religion, and how to protect the rights of those as well. I also doubt that they envisioned a day and age where terrorism would be so close to the front of daily lives, and where biological weapons were a reality. So, now we add statutes and laws and more amendments to keep up with the times, or at least try to. Thinking of how much paper we’d use if we printed out all the laws the U.S. has all at once makes my head want to spin like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist.

Do I know how it should be rewritten? Nope. I just think that what we have now really isn’t working for anyone—not for those who want total free speech, not for those who want a complete lockdown, and certainly not for the majority of us who fall somewhere in the middle of all that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/us/politics/13repealer.html

Post #3. Public libraries not really public anymore?

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Quiet+library+urban+dilemma/3088935/story.html

This article discusses discouraging the homeless and poor from visiting their local library, and touched a nerve with me. Although it is written based mainly on a city in Canada, it also discusses libraries located in United States cities. For example, “Some large U.S. systems have set up policies openly aimed at deterring the homeless. The Houston library, for example, has rules against bad hygiene and bans sleeping or putting your head on the table.” However, when I was a student, I put my head down on a table several times and dozed for a bit. No one said a word to me. And do they have specific rules on what “bad hygiene” is? Is there some amount of feet away that you have to be able to smell the odor before it’s considered bad hygiene? So many inches of thickness that the dirt has to be on your skin? If that's the case, I shouldn't be allowed to dash in after the gym to pick up a hold like I've done so many times before ... without any comment or dirty looks from anyone.

I’m hypocritical, and I’m aware of that. I wouldn’t want to be the librarian who has to work with a person who smells so bad that you gag near him. I don’t think people should be allowed to carry in blankets and stretch out in the library floor. However, what if the homeless person is legitimately there looking for information on fixing a resume to get back to a job, or needs to look up medical information because he can’t afford health care? Trying to find where the nearest homeless shelter is? Searching for a job on the Internet or writing an email to a relative? So, what’s the solution? I don’t know. I really don’t. I do know, though, that all people should have access to information, even if they cannot afford a residence or a new pair of jeans.