Why does it seem that defenders of the right to free speech are sometimes the same people who enjoy verbal and written attacks on people? What makes public commentators so vengeful, ugly and vile in their statements against fellow human beings?

What is this obvious preoccupation with wanting to be the winner at all costs? I’ve never understood hatred. Not even as a child. And not even as a child growing up with severe, painful, life altering situations.  There is always a choice – continue the pattern of smashing another human-soul to pieces or acting with love and a generous heart.

Freedom of speech seems to give people the go ahead to say whatever they want about someone and claim it to be the truth, while offering no credible proof. And people pay to read this stuff. Where I live, some stores cover up issues of Cosmo magazine to hide the bodies of the cover models, but they leave in full view “US”, “People”, “Star” and other publications that promote rumor, half-truths and made-up stories to sell ad space. Blogs do the same thing. A blog can publish any content, true and factual, scraped and stolen or one-sided and unproven, and earn money from their affiliate and paid ads.

The underlying poison in using freedom of speech as a free pass to say and write anything, regardless of the truth or proof, is the judgment of character by the person having the free for all. Commentators write and talk about people they’ve never met and think they have the freedom and right to not only pass judgment on them, but can write and say anything they wish and be backed by the Constitution of the USA.

Personal attacks are judgment calls and one person’s view. There are always many sides of an experience. Does Freedom of Speech give everyone the right to pass judgment and spread their agenda? Does the law make it right to purposely lie? Since we know that many people will never fact check or look at a story from a 360 degree perspective, is taking advantage of those people the loving to do?

Do Truth, Accuracy and Peaceful Co-existence matter at all anymore?