Month: October 2022 Page 1 of 2

It’s always been something I have realized that free speech is free until it infringes upon someone else’s freedoms. That’s when you know it’s time to make adjustments or stop what I’m doing altogether. I don’t want to write as if I am a small child pushing the patience of the adults in the room but instead just noticing the behavior that comes along with the week’s topic. Free speech isn’t all that it sounds like it is. Specific aspects need to be recognized before their limits can be tested. It’s similar to being media literate, reading between the lines, and realizing specifics before action is taken. On the radio, I can’t name an instance in that I may have pushed the boundaries of free speech. I likely was talking about a native topic on The Sports Animal with Jim and Al. Maybe? I can’t remember. There was a time when the guys had Governor Stitt on the show. It was right after he contracted COVID, and the state had just purchased an enormous amount of Hydroxychloroquine. Of course, now we know that the therapy doesn’t work, and early in the pandemic, it was shrouded in controversy over efficacy. During the interview, I wanted to ask him whether he took any of the controversial medicine and what was happening with the COVID number reporting. I almost let the question rip, but I chose not to because it wasn’t my interview, and I didn’t want to cause a rift for Jim. He and Stitt are big buddies. That’s free speech. If asked, he would have either stopped the interview or answered with no impunity. I don’t know, but I feel he might appear again before the election. A bit rambling here; I would love to get Joy Hofmeister on the show sometime.

I wouldn’t consider any part of any broadcasts (live or recorded-where I’ve appeared) that could be equated to boundary-pushing. I feel, “why rock the boat”? There is no reason to challenge the obvious. You will end up outside, pushing the boundaries that have already been tested. We operate under a different set of guidelines than our predecessors. They will fire your ass if anything, but following the company handbook is followed. Or maybe it’s, “I need the job, so shut up and read this.”

All I have remarked on this week seems obvious; however, the word is now written for others to peer into my world and realize how I perceive it.

As we sit and advocate for free speech this week, countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia are limiting free speech. This week Turkish President Erdogan proposed a bill that would jail people for up to three years for spreading “disinformation.” The limitations in Russia to speaking freely are also a struggle. Suppose you speak out against the Putin regime or the military action; you can be jailed for who knows how long. The idea of free speech should be top of mind for everyone daily. Think about Jamal Khashoggi. This poor soul is assassinated because of his dissent and disagreement with MBS and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Americans should embrace free speech as tightly as we guard our bank accounts and remember someone had to pay the ultimate price.

The use of profanity in TV broadcasts has loosened since childhood. What is aired now on TV would have never aired when I was younger. The subject matter has changed too. Maybe this is the networks catching up with modern times? I felt during the Pandemic, as most rules changed in most places, it could have been a good time for networks like ESPN and FOX to air uncensored versions of game broadcasts. Almost like a late-night version, where the hosts could talk freely in a matter that best resembles the loose conversation styles of Americans. It would be interesting to take away the formality of the traditional broadcast. Just a thought; it reminds me of a situation I had last week.
I ate dinner with my parents Sunday night at a local sports bar. We were seated in the bar area with the TVs; this side of the restaurant didn’t allow smoking or the jukebox to bleed over. We were sitting at a table just adjacent to the bar, and two guys were sitting at the bar. These two guys were enjoying beers and conversing with each other. It wasn’t hard to overhear their conversation as maybe the alcohol was starting to take effect. The Chiefs and Bills NFL game was wrapping up, and their conversation started on the name of the Chiefs and Native Americans taking offense to the title. My father and I are Kiowa. We couldn’t care less what these two had to say about it. One of the guys had a boisterous take; it sounded as if he objected to anyone, including Native Americans, objecting to the use of the name.
I recall this story, not because of the subject of their conversation but the F-bombs thrown around. As my mother sat and ate her meal, every other word from their mouths was a four-letter word. This doesn’t bother me. My mother’s distaste each time they dropped the expletive was tough to watch. Did these guys have the right in a bar to talk as loudly as they were in the bar? Possibly, many years back, I was the guy at the bar I was the guy displaying my lack of vocabulary. So, it didn’t bother me as it did my Mom. Were they exercising their free speech right? According to my mother, maybe they weren’t. But, by definition, they were. They were lacking in style and vocabulary.

It has been an exciting day 2 of free speech week. I feel like an active participant in the free speech movement this week. It could be a synchronistic event to coincidence that I have seen more stories since Monday about ‘free speech. Kanye, sorry, Ye, will buy the Conservative social media platform, Parler. Elon Musk and Trump are back in the news about their Twitter escapades. Alex Jones recently fell on the sword for words he said that he claims are free speech, but the words are incredibly hurtful and insensitive. While he may have exercised his right to free speech, there are lines that humanity shouldn’t cross. I hate to devalue the idea of free speech to style, but it is similar in how to style. You have to have class when using free speech or risk turning people off. Then what’s the use of speech at all?

Free Speech, is it free? When referring to our general freedom as country citizens, we are often asked that. Free speech, is it free speech? I think we get tangled up in the four-lettered word that begins with an ‘F.’ Free. Is that the kind of free, like the free piece of cake I get with the meal I sometimes order at Pruitt’s? Note: Be careful of the 7-Up cake. Yikes. I don’t think it’s an added-value term in this case. To have a conversation requires two communicators passing along ideas and exchanging thoughts. It is the conduit between the messenger and the receiver. If that is limited, you get what we see in Totalitarian and Communists states. The limitations are set forth by the all-watching government eye of the state. Without diving deep into any ideas being pushed or what’s on the national agenda during this week of free speech, I felt like writing about what I think the terminology ‘free’ speech means.

Today at OU was fantastic. The college recognizes its native student body. In most of the buildings, there is native art displayed regularly. The course catalog is filled with native languages. The amount of goodwill that goes into welcoming native students is apparent at OU. Today the native clubs had an opportunity to come together in the South oval for a small gathering. Beginning Kiowa class today was held near the William Bennett Bizzell statue. I listened to them sing, and they burned some sage and were fanned off. It felt good to pray for a bit. I had hoped they put up the Teepee, but the rain had other plans today. To see a Teepee up at a place like the University of Oklahoma shows respect from the University. Inside a Teepee are where prayers happen. Seeing them put up in places you wouldn’t typically is heartwarming.

I hope all had a good day remembering those ancestors that gave it their all for us; they had prayed for this current generation long ago. We must keep the traditions and ways close but teach those willing to learn.