I’m not going to say anything in this rant for or against Eminem, because I want to talk about freedoms and drawing lines. First, let’s look at my definition, so we are all on the same page:
freedom n. Unrestricted access or use.
How can we “draw a line” on something in which there is unrestricted access or use? You cannot “draw a line” on a freedom, because it is no longer a freedom. You cannot create borders and call THAT freedom. “Look, this is my freedom box.. but don’t step outside of it, that’s BAAAAD…” Also, the point of our government is solely to protect our right to happiness, to ensure we can be happy and that no one interferes with another’s right to be happy (I’m not saying this is the way things are, but how they could and should be). I would think that drawing a line on a freedom would be an interference with my rights?
expression n. Communication, esp. in words; utterance.
Also, what about expression? Expression is an individual’s recreation of themself in imagery. If a person is not harming another person (taking away his/her right to happiness) and there is consent, there is no call to condemn and remove the freedom of expression, the freedom of communication. You can criticize, you can choose to not see or hear or experience the communication (you are not forced to acknowledge someone’s expression, just like I am not forcing you to read this right now).
When we start limiting, we stop growing, we stop learning, we stop understanding, we stop living. Expression is a part of our communication, a secondary process to our cognition, to our reason; don’t ever let it go to waste.