To ban or not to ban -
Freedom is all about
strengthening the right choices.
- selah -
An irresponsible kind of freedom
is an anathema to itself.
Indeed,
a person or a nation
who does not know freedom
shall certainly lose it.
Truly,
that constant striving
for an authentic form of human freedom
is a common human need.
For the rough material
of our common freedoms
is like iron ore - that -
we must first allow into the fire
that we may as one nation
forge it into the steel of our liberty.
This is why
I've always been supportive about
a robust form of free expression
- for our nation -
because it exposes our freedom
to the task at hand.
It is not Lady Gaga's responsibility
to strengthen, temper and refine
free, open and honest thought
here in our own nation,
it is ours.
No matter
how vulgar or offensive
her own lyric and art may be,
(short of openly sowing evil
and willful divisions in our midst)
if we do not stand and face it
and learn to deal with it
as a free and human society
at any one time - under heaven,
freedom loses out.
This is why I am not for the ban.
- selah -
BUT if our prevailing freedom
- realistically and understandably -
is not yet ready for something
as radical as this one event,
then I am for the ban.
But only with the understanding
that in this age, we shall - as one nation -
be faced with other
serious challenges to our liberty
that may be even greater than this concert.
- selah -
All forms of truly human expression
has a rightful place and time in our Republic.
Therefore,
it is our responsibility
as a nation - together this time -
to make sure that both the right as well as the duty
to maintain and protect the existence of free expression
ever prevail within the climate of our democracy.
And thank you, Lady Gaga,
for giving us this teaching moment.
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Common Human Needs