While on the radio show this morning, the guys saw an op/ed by left-wing talk show host Bill Maher. Maher has a history of making controversial and vitriolic comments, especially about conservatives, but in The New York Times today he made some great points about freedom of speech, political incorrectness, and apologies.
Maher wrote:
When did we get it in our heads that we have the right to never hear anything we don’t like? In the last year, we’ve been shocked and appalled by the unbelievable insensitivity of Nike shoes, the Fighting Sioux, Hank Williams Jr., Cee Lo Green, Ashton Kutcher, Tracy Morgan, Don Imus, Kirk Cameron, Gilbert Gottfried, the Super Bowl halftime show and the ESPN guys who used the wrong cliché for Jeremy Lin after everyone else used all the others. Who can keep up?
Maher contined, "We need to learn to coexist, and it’s actually pretty easy to do. For example, I find Rush Limbaugh obnoxious, but I’ve been able to coexist comfortably with him for 20 years by using this simple method: I never listen to his program."
Maher added, "I don’t want to live in a country where no one ever says anything that offends anyone. That’s why we have Canada."
You can (and should) read the whole thing here. As Stu tweeted upon reading it, "The brilliance of Bill Maher might be fleeting, but it exists. I'm serious. Read this."