I must write this angry column for freedom.

ger brass ones to be pro-life and then kill an abortion doctor.

I am all for people having different opinions on issues, but it is not our place to infringe on the rights of others. I say if you don't like abortion, you don't have to get one. No one is making anyone get an abortion.

ot by Apollo, then maybe we can discover that homosexuals are not evil just because some big book says so. And having straight men write about homosexuality being evil is like hiring Coca-Cola to create a commercial about PepsiCola. You're not going to get an unbiased opinion on the matter.

can't stand Dawson's Creek or 7th Heaven, but I don't try to get them thrown off the air. Instead, I exercise my freedom of choice and watch "South Park" or "WWF Smackdown."

I cherish the fact that I live in a country that holds freedom in such high regard. I enjoy freedom· of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. I am proud that we as citizens of this country have rights that protect our freedom.

But there are those who are against freedom. There are those who want to take those rights away from you and make choices for you. They want to tell you what you can say, what you can see and what you can hear. They want you to live your life according to their values and beliefs.

Who are "they?" They are many. They are known by many different names and have many different agendas, but in the end they are looking to squelch your freedom, either intentionally or not. Here are some that rile up the freedom fighter in me.

Insane abortion protestors: I have nothing against people who are against abortion, but I do hold a grudge against pro-life people who terrorize abortion doctors and patients. A woman's body is a woman's body and she should have the freedom to do what she wants with it. I find it amazing that old men in Washington D.C. are trying to tell young women what do to with their bodies. That takes some big brass ones. And it takes even big-

Gay bashers: Being racist is bad enough, but to bate someone because of their sexual orientation is just as bad. And hatred toward a group of people is dangerous because then you can easily justify taking away their rights as human beings. But not only are Neo-Nazis and the KKK against homosexuals, but so are religious groups. I know that the Catholic Church, which Cabrini College affiliates itself with, believes that homosexuals are not evil but their acts are. I have the same feeling about murderers. I have nothing against murderers until they kill someone.

Religious people say that it is written in the Bible that homosexuality goes against God's will, but let's look at the Bible from a different point of view. The Bible was written a long time ago by heterosexual men who were "inspired by God." Now the whole "inspired by God" thing might have worked in the Dark Ages, but not today. The only people I know who God talks to are the crazy homeless people who scream on street comers. Plus the Bible was written during unenlightened times when we believed that we were the center of the universe and that the world was flat. If we can discover that the sun is not pulled across the sky on a chari-

What's the big a deal about people who are attracted to members of the same sex? There is no worldwide homosexual conspiracy to convert heterosexuals. They are not infiltrating our society in an attempt to send it crashing to oblivion. They're just people, like you and I. So don't hate someone because they're gay. Hate them for a good reason, like for being an asshole.

Media Watchdogs: These are the people who want my favorite TV shows off the air because they find their content offensive. They range from housewives to politicians running for the White House. I find that these are the people who are the biggest threats to freedom, and also the biggest threats to intelligent thought.

I could rant all day long about media watchdogs, but for the sake of my readers I'll just get to the meat of the matter. If you find something on television offensive, DON'T WATCH IT! If you don't want your children to watch it, don't let them. Assert some damn parental power. Or better yet, talk to your children about the program in question. Tell them why you object to it. But don't try to eradicate something just because you don't like its content.

Here's a news flash for you: not everything in the world is geared toward you. I particularly

The big point that media watchdogs make is that kids imitate what they see on TV and in movies. I think that if a kid isn't smart enough to separate the TV world from the real world, it is not the fault of Hollywood. It is the parents' fault for not teaching that child common sense. If you don't have the brains to figure out that you're doing something completely and utterly stupid, you have no one to blame but your own dumb self.

The point of all this is that you don't have to like everything, but don't try to ban or condemn it just because it conflicts with your opinions or beliefs. I'm not trying to force my views on anyone. If you like the article, great! If you disagree with this article, that's perfectly all right. You can choose to write a letter voicing how you disagree with me. Or you can choose to never read this article again. And that, my friends, is freedom.

Mike "80's" Butler is Perspective Editor of the Loquitur. Some people call him "El 80's."

Loquitur is established as a forum for student expression and as a voice in the uninllibited, robust, free and open discussion orIssues.