Freedom of Speech?

Or just plain obnoxious?

I'm all for freedom of speech in this country, but this week I'm voting for just plain obnoxious. Or crazy. Or rude. Or out-of-their minds. Call it whatever you want.

First it was Congressman Joe Wilson shouting, "You lie!" in the middle of President Obama's speech. It doesn't matter whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or just plain anti-political, it is still WRONG. That is taking "act first, seek forgiveness later" to a whole new level. If you can't hold your tongue, get out of office.

Then the other night we were watching the U.S. Open. Tennis should be a family-friendly event that we can all watch together, right? Apparently not when Serena Williams is playing. Thankfully the kids had gone to bed before she went on her tirade against the line judge who called her for a foot fault.

The saddest part of the whole thing (other than her berating another human being) is that she completely stole the spotlight from Kim Clijsters, who was unranked and obviously outplaying her belligerent opponent. No one is talking about how great Clijsters performed, everyone is focused on Serena. It makes one wonder if that was her hidden motive behind verbally abusing the line judge. The verdict is still out on whether she will be banned for future events. I'm all for second chances, but if you can't hold your tongue, get off the court.

Finally, I brought up Yahoo this morning and read about Kayne West barging right into Taylor Swift's speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. Seriously? I'm shocked at the audacity of people and depressed by the general lack of respect. If you can't hold your tongue, get off the stage.

I don't want my children to grow up thinking that this is okay. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I'd rather my kids encourge, build up, and compliment others when they speak, and learn to handle things appropriately when they disagree. No one is perfect, and I am thinking of my own faults in this area as I write this. It's not easy to keep our mouths shut. But somewhere along the way it seems like "Freedom of Speech" has turned into "Freedom to Criticize, Condemn, and Attack At Any Given Moment."