You may have missed this tidbit of news the occurred among the smorgasbord that was Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s resignation and plea bargain.
Mike Huckabee resigned amid an uproar from the board of the Country Music Association Foundation, the CMA’s charitable arm, one day after he was appointed to it. Criticism of Huckabee’s appointment was immediate.
The issue was Huckabee’s vocal support of traditional marriage and gender views, and to a lesser extent, gun rights.
Jason Owen, co-President of Monument Records and owner at Sandbox Entertainment called the appointment a “grossly offensive decision,” and Sugarland manager Whitney Pastorek, who is a CMA member declared, “I find his choice to spend the last 10 years profiting off messages of exclusion and hatred (not to mention the gun lobby) to be disqualifying.”
There were threats to boycott he CMA and country music in general.
You’re not misreading this: A former Southern Governor, Presidential candidate, and ordained Southern Baptist Minister was forced off a Nashville-based charity board because he supports traditional marriage. This defies conventional belief. If the views of Huckabee cannot be tolerated in the buckle of the Bible belt, then where would they be tolerated?
Today, the traditionally religious and socially conservative are being forced into silence by both an overreaching judiciary and a small but outspoken cultural-orthodoxy enforcement cabal.
So, the “tolerant” we’re all supposed to revere will not tolerate any dissension from their beliefs. This phenomenon is the reason the controversial radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh coined the term “feminazis.” It’s an intolerance of any beliefs but their own.
In the past, tolerant people have exclaimed, “I may disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.” Re-stated, you don’t have to like or agree with a person’s opinion but all have an equal right to speak. All speech must be tolerated, that’s the American way, enshrined in the First Amendment.
This country is presently engaged in a debate about what constitutes sexuality and gender. If you assert that gender is determined at birth, that same-sex acts are immoral, and that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman, you will be ostracized, called a bigot, hater, and homophobe. If your personal or religious beliefs prevent you from catering to homosexual unions in your business, you may be successfully sued.
The battle for religious liberty and the right to disagree on cultural acceptance is important for everyone. If speech which deviates from the new politically correct norms will not be tolerated in America, how then is this country different from dictatorships like Iran and North Korea?
Do not just passively go along with the current whims of the mob. Stand up for your first amendment rights. Progressives are currently winning the culture war, but I suspect the silent majority respects the free speech of all. The all-time low ratings for the Academy Awards broadcast possibly confirms my suspicion.
I will not accept being marginalized by virtue of being labeled by someone else. The American way is the free and uninhibited exchange of ideas and respect for all points of view, not to trade the forced silencing of one group for the forced silence of another.
