Greg Hollingsworth

Not long after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 Bill Maher, then the host of Politically Incorrect, made a statement in reaction to President George W. Bush's labeling of the 9/11 hijackers as cowards, that ended up ending his career on ABC. While agreeing with Conservative political commentator Dinesh D'Souza's statement that the hijackers were not cowards, but rather that they were warriors, Maher said the following:

We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missile from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplance when it hit's the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly"

-Bill Maher 9-17-2001

In the days following that statement, FedEX (the single largest advertiser during his late night time slot) pulled their ads amid the backlash against Mr. Maher's statement. The show was canceled the following June, and it's cancellation, in the estimation of Maher and many others, was a direct result of the controversy. The show ran for 10 seasons on two networks, was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards (winning 1 in 2000), and yet it was brought down by 3 highly controversial sentences.

Two weeks ago, Fox commentator made a statement on the Fox & Friends morning show that is drawing a similar kind of ire:

"This President, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture, I don't know what it is...I'm not saying he doesn't like whie people, I'm saying he has a problem. Ha has a -- this guy is, I believe, a racist." 

Glenn Beck 7-28-2009

Well, the backlash against Mr. Beck has begun in earnest with reports that Geico, Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance, SC Johnson, Sargento Foods and State Farm either pulling their ads or asking for guarantees that their ads will no longer appear during his show's broadcast.

The question I suppose is whether or not this is just for Mr. Beck, and if you think it was unjust in the case of Bill Maher, because if you supported Maher, you can't go changing your mind now.

Here's my point, I don't like Glenn Beck anymore than the next guy, but you don't get to apply the rules only when they best suit you. You may not agree with Mr. Beck, but the man has a right to his opinion, and he has a guaranteed constitutional right to express it openly and freely. Granted, those advertisers have every right to pull their ads from his show, fearing any sort of backlash from crazed political activists that might convince people not to buy Sargento cheese or buy their insurance from Progressive, State Farm or the gecko, and give up their Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash.

Let me emphasize this point, I do not agree with Glenn Beck, I do not believe that President Obama is a racist, nor do I believe that he was born in Kenya, or that the health care plan includes death panels, nor did I vote for him. To be completely honest, I never dreamed that there would be a scenario where I would actually be defending Glenn Beck, but it seems like in this society we tend to forget too quickly what makes our country so unique.

In some countries Beck would have already been arrested and possibly executed for publicly slandering that countries leader. Our right to voice our opinions, however unpopular or controversial they may be, is one of the most sacred privileges we have, and to tell you the truth, Glenn Beck is almost assuredly not alone in this belief.

Glenn Beck and Bill Maher both made comments that they would probably have been better off not making on national television, but they both had the absolute, inalienable right to make those statements. The great thing about America is that we have the freedom to make our own choices, and it's really really easy to change the channel. As for Mr. Beck (and Mr. Maher) they made their choice, and as with all choices, they must live with the consequences, good or bad.