I'm not entirely happy with this article — it's a bit disjointed. You should see the original though. I've cut this version back to I think 3,800 words, with the original being a solid 1,500 longer. It's a big subject. Anyway, it won't go public until tomorrow so if you'd life first dibs on it, here you go:
Should Freedom of Expression be a right?
"If God wanted you to have a tattoo, you would have been born with one. Here in South Carolina, we still believe in God."
- South Carolina State Senator Jakie Knotts"If God had wanted us to eat cooked food, he'd have installed a furnace in our throats."
- Anonymous author of the Fingernail Mods FAQRecent court cases regarding the legality of tattooing in the state of South Carolina have tested the question of whether the method of expression is included in the first amendment right of free speech. The court decided that freedom of speech is limited in its context, and does not in fact apply to tattooing (even though it has in the past protected far more socially questionable art forms). In this week's column I will make the case that freedom of expression rights are both desperately needed by the modified community, and that in modern times, it makes sense to consider a freedom of expression right as a single unifying right that also protects speech, culture, and religion.
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I thought it might amuse people to hear how I write. I jot down my ideas on little pieces of paper that I carry around with me when I go out. Then I rough out a structure and type the body in on the computer using AbiWord (a free open-source competitor to MS Word). Then I print that out and go lie in the old hay in the barn editing it by hand.
Today it was supermuddy back there so I went for a spin in the ATV every time I needed to clear my thoughts. It's so warm and wet today that the four wheeler was throwing up a forty-foot rooster tail. Very fun!
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