MrNiceGuy,
I have zero issues with your first paragraph above. Indeed, open and honest discourse is the way to go in order to unearth any possible common ground on matters of some import.
However, you won’t be able to get me to assent to the ideas laid out in your second paragraph above without an additional few seconds of debate. “Thinking unique things” and “saying unique things” are not, in my view, what defines us as human beings. Dogs think unique things and cats (in their own unique language) say unique things. And it’s not merely a matter of being able to manipulate symbols (through language or art, say) for there’s ample evidence that other species also possess that ability.
I would venture to say there are a great many things that make me human, not just one. Thinkers and scribes of every ilk have long sought to discover what those things may be. No has come up with a definitive answer that would finally put an end to the search.
For me—and I stress: for ME—some of the things that make me human are at the very least related to my conscious (i.e., not merely instinctual) drive to self-actualize, by which I mean my will to secure for myself the conditions under which I can be given a chance to realize the full potential of my being as a free agent who is also a living, breathing, thinking, feeling creature… while living in a social environment that acknowledges that every other human is to be given the very same opportunity.
And this where I circle back to the notion of responsibility and accountability. Were I living alone, say on an otherwise deserted island, I would say and do whatever I damn well please. My thoughts, actions, and speech would present no obstacle to anyone else. But I don’t live alone on a deserted isle; I live in a society composed of millions—billions—of other souls also in search of their own inner paradise. The only way I can so live is by negotiating with those other souls what sacrifices each is willing to make so that every living, breathing, thinking, feeling human has a shot at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (or what I would call self-actualization). That I’m willing to make those sacrifices (rather than succumbing to urges and needs better left to nature red in tooth and claw) is not only what makes me human but it also enhances my humanity rather than diminishes it.
As to your final sentence above, I can only suppose that it originates from a mind that has not yet learned to think for itself. The comment sounds trite and rehearsed. It has no value, not even as a rhetorical question.
Trump was able to say what he wanted in regards to the election being stolen just as you can yell fire in a crowded theater. The system allows free speech and then punishes later if the speech incited others to hurt or be hurt.
I feel like you think the MAGA crowd alone is to blame for defending free speech but not with great responsibility while ignoring all sides are guilty of this. As when the left claims those on the right are racists and nazis or not referring to them by their preferred pronoun or giving them a living wage is an equivalent to violence against them.
This is where we part ways. If I ask you to call me "they" and you don't, then I say not only are you being violent against me by not acknowledging me wanting to be known as "they", but you are also putting in danger everyone of those like me who wishes to be "they", because everyone who hears you not acknowledging me as "they" are influenced bots instead of human beings with human being brains.
This is where the influenced bot line comes back. Because if that's all we are then maybe we should police speech? But I think we are better than that.
If you didn't call me "they" and someone beat my ass, do you think I should be able to hold you accountable for your free speech and opinion? Scarily enough, I think you do.
If doctors tell people to lose weight, like they always have done, and people start beating the asses of overweight people, should we blame the doctors? And when all of society is obese and dying out of heart attacks, should we all rejoice that at least we didn't body shame, even for our own health? Getting more scary in here.
The guy who said, "Words are deeds.", either did everything he ever said he would do or he's a liar like me saying I'm going out to work in the garage and then have some beers while typing this up, instead.
Words are not deeds. Words are words. Deeds are deeds. Human beings who can think can tell the difference. (Dogs & cats can't). Words can inspire or inflame but they are not a defence to do dumb shit. Ever.
So in your eyes if someone doesn't use preferred pronouns they are guilty of perpetrating violence while in my eyes they are just giving their opinions.
If I didn't use your preferred pronoun and someone who heard me beat your ass, you would blame me. If you didn't use my preferred pronoun and someone who heard you beat my ass, I would blame the ass beater.
Because ultimately, the deed of having our ass beaten is far worse then allowing someone the freedom to say they want our ass to be beaten.
Do you concur?
In a perfect world no one would talk about beating asses but as imperfect as we are, we allow people to talk about ass beating because we should rely on thinking brains to do the thinking! Hot take, I know.
After a day of dealing with customers, you may appreciate the difference of the words where you say you want to beat their asses vs the deed of of just going to the gym and punching a bag instead of their actual asses.
If you want to police your own speech moreso than others and judge the free speech of others moreso than yourself, that's wonderful, but the first amendment has no care for such things.
If the people who wrote the first amendment thought like the dude who said words are deeds, they might have scared themselves right away from the simplistic grandeur of allowing expression of opinion without deference to being offended.