[RE-POST] A city sign, Free Speech, and role of government: What some Libertarians will never understand

Here we go again. There are sensible, thoughtful Libertarians (mostly I'm certain) and then there are the others who aren't so sensible and thoughtful and misinterpret the meaning of "Free Speech" using the most mundane of examples. Free Speech doesn't trump the Constitution of the United States or vice versa:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Here is a conversation, a screen grab from Facebook, that illustrates how "Free Speech" in misinterpreted to be something it is not:

Mr. Bollier tears apart the argument that Free Speech is all-encompassing and trumps the role of government in our society. It's just absurd. This line by Mr. Bollier says it all: "Your sad and misguided view of freedom of speech would keep us all in a verbal lawless state where direct emotional verbal assaults would be common place I dare not live in that world."

For some perspective below is a post from this blog in December of last year addressing "profane language" and what the role of government is. The ridiculous comparison between the City of Lake Worth and North Korea is especially entertaining and also quite sobering at the same time. Enjoy. . .

On Friday, 12/12/14, this item appeared on a local Facebook page called Lake Worth Community:

The penalty referenced is for a second degree misdemeanor, the same penalty one would get, in theory, for riding a bike or skateboard on a sidewalk in the city. Those signs were at the beach, but came down when the city realized that they were confusing and actually directed bikes to areas that were unsafe. One example would be encouraging bikes to ride behind cars parked, facing in, at a 90 degree angle. So, some common sense was applied there. 

It sounds like we need some additional common sense to be applied in this area. Some seem to have a problem with "profane language" being banned from the Lake Worth Pier and the Snook Islands recreational area. There are already decorum standards for City Commission meetings. You can find those here on the city's website. The standards appear below:

Those commenting on Lake Worth Community are referencing a website posted on April 5, 2012, almost three years ago. Three years ago does not qualify as "new." The Internet can breed people that become experts when it comes to embellishment. For instance, read this warning posted on Lake Worth Community to evacuate the City due to the coming controlled burn at one of the city's vacant homes. 

So let's simmer down about the implications of what is actually going on here. Research actually takes time and effort. The Palm Beach County Park rules, that would apply to John Prince Park, are more restrictive than even Lake Worth's rules:

Sec. 21-39. - Noise. (Ord. No. 04-022, § 24, 8-17-04): No person shall make such loud, excessive, unnecessary noise so as to create a nuisance in any county park. Noise shall be considered a nuisance where it produces actual physical discomfort and annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities.

When you're dealing with other local sources on the Internet, and that includes blogs, including some comments left on this one, and Facebook pages along with other sources, it's important to remember that many times hype trumps fact. For example, here are two excerpts from comments on Lake Worth Community's 'profanity' rules post (I will not identify the poster):

Lake Worth City Hall's obsessed with behavior modification, just like all authoritarian regimes are.

Huh? And then there is this:

Are these the new rules for Lake Worth, N. Korea, and they got posted here by accident? I didn't know there was a Lake Worth in N. Korea.

So we're to conclude, from a 3-year-old website, that our City of Lake Worth is now an "authoritarian" regime and akin to a North Korean city government? Here's some North Korean propaganda, let's compare and contrast.

Lake Worth is a medium-sized  municipality in Palm Beach County. There are 38 municipalities in Palm Beach County. For those of you who see Lake Worth, a City of just over 35,000, as a crucial link in some grand conspiracy...I say, "some perspective is in order". 

If anyone in Lake Worth, a resident or non-resident, would walk up and down the Snook Island floating dock yelling George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words and a Sheriff deputy appeared you could be arrested and charged with violating Florida Statute 877.03 which states:

Breach of the peace; disorderly conduct.—Whoever commits such acts as are of a nature to corrupt the public morals, or outrage the sense of public decency, or affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them, or engages in brawling or fighting, or engages in such conduct as to constitute a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

Lake Worth's rule prohibiting "profane language" seems a reminder to park visitors to engage in proper conduct and to not "outrage the sense of public decency". Something most citizens would consider common sense.