from the NBA to the Freedom of Speech and Expression, or: How did it get there?

Reading LK’s exposition on the sports theme….


She and I were talking last night, about how it would be nice to get a job in the NBA. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a certified Ginebra fanatic (too bad they lost this conference), but there’re just so many things to do in the NBA.

I’ll digress. Every so often, when my friend, car15full_auto, and I would meet we’d always go on and talk about writing a lot of stuff. Car15, who works for an NGO, told me to mind the agri funds while the last election period was going on. Surprise, surprise. There’s 780 million pesos of it that’s unaccounted for today.

Where was I? Ah. Car15 first led me to Gary Allen’s None Dare Call it Conspiracy, and John Stormer’s None Dare Call it Treason. Not that I’ve read them from cover to cover. But their basic premise is this: the American Government is fooling its citizens some of the time through an elaborate conspiracy which would amount to treason if these acts were done by ordinary citizens.

Granted, the folks in Our government are too fickle in their loyalties to make up even one lasting conspiracy, so I see little application for that book here. Although you can make a case for its having an indirect application because America, big as it is, whatever it does and decides to do should affect everything around it (read: everyone).

Where was I…?

Ah, the point. The book is important because it shows you how free the US is, in terms of the Freedom of Speech and of Expression.

We have the same thing ingrained in Our Constitution, somewhere in the Bill of Rights (Sec 4, Art III, I think), which says, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, and of the press….” Okay. No law Is being passed. Anyway, the Supreme Court will shoot that down before it becomes effective, HOWEVER, you don’t need a law to stifle your freedoms of speech, etcetera, etcetera. Someone Speaks and it's not the Supreme Court that does the shooting. You don't need a law to gag your Freedoms. You only need to be passive. You only need to not care.

How many journalists have already been killed this year? Two, by my count (and I have newspaper backlogs), and it’s not yet even Valentine’s.

The point? Ah. Much as we would malign the US for its many misdeeds, you’d have to admit that they’re freer there. (Freer. Not that they're totally free.) Can you imagine speaking out, nah, publishing a book against the officials of this country (especially the local officials) and not be visited by Harm?

I mean, even if you’re the bravest man on this planet, if you have a family or loved one somewhere, there’s your weakness right there (not a subtle ad for Firewall).

I was telling Car15 that for anyone to be an effective Graft-Government buster, you’d have to be big-balled and, more importantly (every one of us is afraid of something), alone. So alone that if you die without leaving a last will and testament, your properties go to the State.

Hay. (See also Dom’s entry.)


Where was I? Ah, because in the NBA, you could travel with the team and write, and do nothing but. You could analyze plays, maybe join the staff, maybe mix some math in to make your articles look scientific (and they’ll be). Plus, I won’t have to feel guilty when I watch the games (like I do now.) And the only shooting that goes on there is when the ball drops into the basket. Freer.