Life: Lars Larson

While in Oregon I listened to the local, and now nationally syndicated, talk radio host Lars Larson. To break the monotony, I will fast forward to the comment that irked me to no end. He uttered some version of, “now I don’t care if some nut job wants to buy an alternately fueled vehicle but I like my gas-guzzling Tahoe. I don’t want all these whack-jobs taking my taxes to fund research for hydrogen-methane-electric-pussy fuel. Don’t take my money for your insanity.”

I won’t give him the respect of actually responding but regardless, I was fuming. This guy has hundreds of thousands of listeners who live by his words.

He was irresponsible, baseless, and wrong, but regardless, I had a difficult time explaining why. It is his opinion; it is a free country, so why am I angry?

I whole heartedly disagree with what he said but how can I prove his opinion to be false? The subjectivity of what and who is wrong cannot be proven nor disproved by even the most conscious debaters. Arguments can sway people’s opinions or even change them, but arguments and evidence cannot prove opinions false.

Is it ever our right to silence even the most ignorant voice? Can America subject itself to extreme political correctness? What would happen if we outlawed “hurtful” or “prejudicial” comments? I can only imagine the horrors of such a world. Soon sarcasm would be outlawed and friendly teasing would be subject to zero tolerance policies. We must understand that the freedom to be radical is an inevitable ramification of free speech, but that does not discredit the First Amendment’s importance.

In today’s world of unprecedented political division it is easy to hope for the silencing of contradictory opinions, but in the wake of war and fear, if there is ever a time in American history to embrace free speech, now is that time.

If Lars Larsen held a pollute-the-world rally, I would disagree with his premise and probably protest, but inside I’d smile in the face of American freedom. America is the tolerance of differing opinions. Disagree? Good, you are allowed to.