Why is the Left Afraid of Free Speech?

I recall in University a professor made a comment that has stuck in my head for years,

“Free Speech is only acceptable as long as you are agreeing with my point of view, otherwise you need to be silenced immediately”

It was clearly a joke and he was simply making a commentary on the dynamic of the University classroom, however it’s a line that has stuck in my mind for a long time and always seems to spring to mind during certainly times.

I read that Margaret Atwood has signed a petition to stop Sun TV News, or as every media outlet has dubbed it “Fox News North” even though it is not affiliated with the Fox News Channel.

The term “Fear Monger” was perhaps most used during the reign of George W. Bush in reference to him and the Republicans, however I find that those on the left have done a very effective job of using fear for their own agenda’s as well, I would argue that they have done a better job of it then the Republicans or the self proclaimed “right” has done over the last year.

There has been an outcry to not allow for Sun TV news to be given a license to broadcast in Canada because of its potential “right wing slant”.

Perhaps I am the last realist left, but the days of a creditable down the middle newsman reading the news of the day directly into a camera are dead and buried. News like any other TV program now is a product, and a product that is worth countless dollars to the company that is broadcasting it.

I find Fox News no different then MSNBC except for the fact that their brand of zealotry is for different ends of the political spectrum, yet I hear more cries about the bias and general evil as it pertains to Fox News then I do MSNBC.

Bias exists within news, this occurred the second that Social Commentators were given two hour long programs on news channels under the illusion that they were reporting news.

CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBC Newsworld, CTV News, and everything in between have all found themselves in this same situation. The only difference as it pertains to someone’s opinion of how either Glen Beck or Keith Olbermann report the days events on their program has solely to do with the viewers own political bias. If you hate Beck and love Olbermann chances are you have an Obama/Biden bumper sticker on your Prius, and if you hate Olbermann and love Beck chances are that you have a Bush/Cheney 2004 sticker on the gun rack in the back of your pick-up.

(Please take note of the above sarcasm)

Both represent what “News” has degraded to over the course of the last decade, and neither offer a down the middle view of any issue, and neither is worse then the other.

However I assure you that someone will attempt to sway me one way or another, but based on my opinion of the situation they are both zealots for their own cause and someone you agree with is easier not to dislike then someone you disagree with.

The issue I have with various Canadian media outlets and “personalities” in attempting to censor Sun News TV is that regardless of how they frame the argument the fact is that they are attempting to censor news, and determine what should be reported on and what should not.

I recall a time where I could tune into the news and get the story, most of the story from both sides.

Now I need to watch Fox, CNN, MSNBC, CBC, and CTV as well as read online to get all angles of a particular story before I can draw my own conclusion.

Reality has become nothing more then CSI: News.

The viewer needs to spend a long period of time in order to get enough information so that they can have the entire story and then piece together all of that information to figure out just what the actual whole story is.

The Toronto Star, love it, hate it, or otherwise be indifferent to it, is not a balanced down the middle newspaper, nor is the Toronto Sun.

If the Toronto Star opted for an all news channel would we see the same degree of outcry against it?

I think we all know that we would not.

I fail to understand why people like Margaret Atwood who has enjoyed the benefits of living in a nation where the opinions of all can be stated freely are now in favor of censorship?

Because her political alignment is not in agreement with that of the Sun News TV folks?
I think I would have a lot more respect for the argument if someone was simply honest about their reasoning behind it.

The reality is that to make such bold conclusions about a form of media no one has even seen yet seems to be nothing short of using fear as a means of forwarding your own politics,

But what do I know?

I am of the mindset that the market should be allowed to decide for itself.
Let the folks at Sun News TV spend the millions of dollars needed in order to set up this station and broadcast it,

If there is no such market for their branding of news in Canada then they will crash and burn and the market would have silenced that particular slant.

Attempting to stop it before it has even broadcast news story one leads me to believe that there is a fear that there may actually be a market for news told from a different angle, and if that is the case there is no argument against this sort of station other then:

“Free Speech is only acceptable as long as you are agreeing with my point of view, otherwise you need to be silenced immediately”

I don’t feel that Canadians need to be told what is within their best interests, I have faith that Canadians have the sense and the intelligence to make those choices on their own.

The outcry against Sun TV News seems to be made up of propaganda and opinions, and I find it hard to take such criticism seriously when the network is yet to broadcast a single news story or even announce the bulk of its staff or content.

There appears to be a lot of fear mongering occurring against something we haven’t even seen yet, and I tend to be against any form of filtering information that is provided to the public so they can make their own choices,

Yet once again we see a vocal minority trying to play father knows best with the majority of the population.

Tragic, but true.