The Economics of Free Speech (prices may vary)

Johnny

there is something wrong in the last stanza, bro...
check...

"you will have to eating the cost
unless it's a just loss leader

to get suckers in the door"

maybe you mean...

"you will have to eat the cost
unless it's just a loss leader

to get suckers in the door"

though in terms of the rest of the write, I would have gone with...

"eat the cost like
a loss leader
bringing suckers in the door"

but that said I enjoyed the concept of this

nice stuff


Al

Not Johnny, but thanks. And that's what I get for changing the line one too many times, fixing thanks for the call out.

Haha! Im sorry, I was commenting on two open windows at the same time and mixed them out, the guy in my office is utterly confused as to why I called him Trix... a giggle for the day! It reads really nicely now, awesome piece Al

Repeat after me: We are all Johnny. Most everyone here is.

I feel that Freedom of Speech these days is being way over hyped.  We've got a such a glut that Knock Off News is being slipped into it and people can't tell the difference when it comes to what they want to believe.

The poem definitely gets a person thinking on the subject.

People have confused their frees. Able vs no cost.  Without exception we may say whatever we choose, whenever and wherever we choose.  If we choose to speak without thought we then must deal with the consequences. Those who feel they should be free to speak without consequences are laughable imo.

take my freedom  any day if you promise to make me 'feel' SAFE!  get it?

Do you?  Laws are there to protect our ideal of society not the individual, yet in order to protect society we must attempt to protect individuals.  Since that is not actually possible, we instead say there are penalties for harming or endangering one another.  For most of our history that has been limited to physical harm and mental harm has been ignored because it is not as easily pinned down.  However, like surgeons washing their hands, wearing gloves and sterilizing their equipment to protect us from things we cannot see with the naked eye, mental/emotional abuse is just as real and just as damaging as physical abuse and we are now beginning to accept that and extend our societal protections to cover those abuses as well.  Societal  evolution demands that we recognize the whole person, not just the container.  

but today the demand( don't ask me how it is created) far exceeds the supply and where the demand(for 'security' is not forthcoming, it is shoved down the throats of the market. i say  it is still evolving,  the understanding that is, of humanity by humanity for the sake of humanity. it's a tough road, not saying the cliche' but it actually is, in a climate of fear and conspiracy theories it's the worst conditions possible for this to  progress.

Lol, well if we want progress we have to stop voting regressives into office.

The second line of the fourth stanza isn't reading right for me. Of course, being dyslexic might be a contributing factor ( and is in many cases ), but I'm not so certain about this one.  

unless it's a just loss leader  

Is it suppose to read  

unless it's just a ...

Or is "just" defined as fair in this context? Which then would seem like an oxymoron;  

a 'just' leader just to get people in the door...

D'oh, nope you're fine, it was me having a dyslexic moment. Thanks for the heads up doll.

It's about telling them what they want to hear almost, to cushion the cost. Free speech does come at a price, you are right. Well observed Trix, enjoyed this.

Thank you for your poignancy. This was lovely. :)

* waves Hi to Trix *