Wise Speech

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Amendment I Ratified December 15, 1791

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.   (1)

James 3:6-8

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison

NKJV

One of the great traditions in the United States on New Years Day is the Tournament of Roses Parade.  When I was around 10 years old, my family was moving back to Phoenix from Seattle.  We took the coastal route so we could visit my dad’s cousin who lived in Pasadena.  Our trip took us through Pasadena over New Years, giving us an opportunity to attend the Tournament of Roses Parade that year. 

Many of us have watched this event on TV and with the benefit of high definition television, we can make out the minute details on the floats.  However, there is nothing like being there in person allowing you to smell the flowers and see the massive size of many of the floats.  However, this year two events occurred, politicizing this great event and sullying this great tradition.

The first event involved a gay wedding float.  Danny Leclair and Aubrey Loots chose to use the forum of the Tournament of Roses Parade to have their gay wedding since gay marriage is now legal in California.  (2)  The first amendment of the Constitution grants them the right to express their support of gay marriage.  However, since the parade is a private event, they have to have permission from the parade officials and since the float was in the parade, they must have gotten that permission.  However just because speech is free does not necessarily make it wise for the belief was that this float would garner support for gay marriage but interestingly instead garnered criticism from both sides of the issue.  (2)

Danny Leclair confessed that, “We did not expect that some of our ‘supporters’ would join the chorus of dissent.  We heard from gay men who felt it was too soon to flaunt our wedding in public.  Some felt that it was wildly inappropriate to assert that committed same sex relationships could contribute to the reduction of HIV infections around the world.  We heard from friends of the LGBT community who thought two men kissing on a cake would set back the movement by enraging the Right Wing Conservative groups.  Then there were the concerned citizens who felt that any wedding, gay, or straight, should be reserved for less public affairs.  (2)

The second event was the arrest of 19 members of PETA who were attempting to stop the SeaWorld float.  (3)  The purpose of their protest was to express their belief that the animals at SeaWorld are treated cruelly.  Once again the members of PETA have the constitutional right to express their opinion but unlike the gay wedding float, they did not have the permission of parade officials, resulting in their arrest.  The SeaWorld float participated in the parade so the protest failed.

James 3:6-8 speaks of the power of the tongue.  Words mean things and it is though our words that we as human beings express our ideas.  In fact, our ability to communicate through words sets us apart from other living things.  James is reminding us that our words are powerful and there will be consequences for what we say.  Quite often, there are unintended consequences from what we say. 

Our founding fathers established a constitutional standard of free speech in our nation in order to promote the free expression of ideas without fear of government intrusion.  However, the biblical standard for speech urges us to choose our words wisely.  James 1:19-20 says, “My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”  (NKJV)

The couple on the gay marriage float unwisely believed the nation was ready to witness a gay wedding during the traditional Tournament of Roses Parade.  What they soon discovered is that people on both sides of the issue were opposed to using this forum to express their opinion.  If anything, their unwise choice of where to express their opinion most likely stirred up additional opposition to gay marriage. 

The PETA protesters believed they could bring attention to their issue by stopping the Rose Parade and thus receive global exposure by the networks covering the parade.  What they discovered is that their efforts would be stopped by law enforcement that were present to insure everyone in attendance were able to watch the parade without interruption from a group wishing to promote their political agenda. 

The lesson learned from these two events is that even though we have the constitutional right to freedom of speech, there is a higher biblical standard the urges us to be wise in our choice of where, when, and how to express ourselves through words or actions.  Danny Leclair and Aubrey Loots, and PETA unwisely chose the Tournament of Roses Parade as a forum from which to promote their belief.  The result was not the advancement of their ideas but an escalation of opposition and, as was the case for the 19 PETA supporters, a little jail time with which to start the new year. 

Any comedian will tell you that timing is everything.  There is much wrong with our nation’s leadership and no lack of complaints and things to say.  However, many in our nation have chosen not to pay attention to the decay of the nation that is going on around them and when confronted with it chose not to listen.  However, when things begin to hit home, such as when their health insurance is canceled and they are unable to get coverage from one of the government exchanges, they cannot help but realize that something is wrong.  This is when a wise speaker has the opportunity to step in and explain how our nation is currently in a dangerous state of decline.  We are approaching a time when those of us choosing to be wise speakers will have abundant teachable moments as things like Obamacare begin to affect the lives of more and more people in our country. 

1. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S. Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.

2. Wilde, Robert. ROSE PARADE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CONDEMNED BY LGBT COMMUNITY. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, January 2, 2014. [Cited: January 3, 2014.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/01/Rose-Parade-Gay-Marriage-Condemned-by-LGBT-Activists.

3. Breitbart News. 19 ARRESTED AS PETA PROTESTS SEA WORLD FLOAT AT ROSE BOWL PARADE. www.breitbart.com. [Online] January 1, 2014. [Cited: January 3, 2014.] http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/01/01/19-Arrested-as-PETA-Protests-Sea-World-Float-Rose-Bowl-Parade.