A bumper sticker said, “Honk all you want; I’m deaf.” Meanwhile a youngster listened closely as his mom said to her friend on her birthday, “You sure don’t look like you’re 40.” The boy piped up, “But some of your parts sure do!”
The recent release of the movie Gosnell has caused some to pretend they’re deaf to its contents while critics say exactly what they think. This independent film tells the true story of the investigation and trial of abortionist, Dr. Kermit Gosnell. It’s been described as shocking but many true stories are, such as those dealing with the holocaust, slavery or war. Nonetheless, those stories were all depicted on film.
However this movie had been dropped by 188 theatres upon release, even though it was placed in the top 10 film list. The film’s marketing director said, “The fact that we’ve been dropped from theatres where the movie is the number six or number nine movie is just something you don’t see. It’s hard not to believe it isn’t about the content of the movie.”
Critics have described it as ‘anti-choice Catholic-backed propaganda’ and a ‘conservative-backed dramatization.’ One could ask what a ‘liberal-backed’ dramatization would look like. And how can a true account of an accused serial killer be labelled conservative or liberal?
It causes me to ask why freedom of expression doesn’t seem to apply for this particular film? And I was reminded of a recent campaign I heard about from the government in Scotland boasting that “religious bigotry is not welcome here”. What was the process that caused freedom of speech and expression to deteriorate to such an extent in Scotland?
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History often shows us the process. What was the process that caused Jews to be viewed as an evil and disposable commodity during the Nazi regime?
What caused slave owners to feel justified in owning human beings? Slaves often asked “Am I not human too?” During that period of history, Wilburforce’s efforts to show the reality of what was happening and to fight to abolish slavery were met with furious opposition.
At this very moment, there are farmers in South Africa who are being murdered, tortured and raped, while the police ignore all these crimes and their government endorses them. How did South Africa come to the point where white farmers are silenced by snuffing out their lives?
Consequently reviews that describe a pro-life group such as the Family Research Council as a ‘hate group’, or this latest movie described as a ‘Christian propaganda movie’ that’s being dropped by 188 theatres, are cause for concern. Ultimately freedom of expression and liberty need to be balanced. Everyone deserves to have a voice, otherwise someone is at risk of being silenced. History has shown the results of silencing for the Jews and the slaves, and current events are showing the literal silencing of white farmers and their families.
Here, in North America, we are all entitled to a voice and freedom of expression. Let’s be sure to protect it for all people, not just some. There’s an old proverb that says, “silence is golden,” but in today’s culture, freedom of expression is precious and silence isn’t always golden.
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