I am a staunch supporter of free speech. In the past hundred years, we have suffered through Margaret Sanger’s extolling eugenics to the hateful rantings of David Duke and his KKK. The rhetoric of hate continues when citizens march through the streets shouting “What we want? Dead cops! When we want it? Now!”
Political hate speech permeates the airways and the newsprint daily. However, our freedom of speech is rightly guarded by the First Amendment to the Constitution irrespective of how vile, how slanderous, or how false it may be.
I was shocked nevertheless, that on the editorial page of the left-wing Juneau Empire recently, there was printed a cartoon that disparaged the millions and millions of Christian voters who overwhelmingly chose Donald Trump as our president. The cartoonist had the colossal nerve to imply that any Christian, regardless of race or ethnic background, betrays Christ by supporting our president. Unbelievable!
The cartoonist (Bob Englehart) has the right to draw cartoons of his choosing, however loathsome they may be. The Empire also has the right, if not the duty, to refuse printing such despicable, anti-religious, tripe.
I hope in the future that the Empire will refuse to print any similar anti-religious cartoons or printed material which ridicules those who follow any religious faith or mock those of no faith.
Jack Cadigan,
Juneau