FRIDAY 5-23-08…When I was a youngster in school, I remember being taught how our U.S. Constitution granted Americans certain rights unavailable in most other countries. America was the “land of the free”. We all had “rights” to peacefully assemble, “rights” to speak freely, “right” to keep and bear arms. Nowhere do I recall a right not to be offended.”
It seems to me many of those rights guaranteed by the Constitution are being battered and torn in today’s society because of people being offended.
Couple cases in point…just to make my point: The University of Toledo has suspended one of its administrators for writing a newspaper op-ed piece questioning whether homosexuality is a civil rights issue. The school says the administrator was suspended precisely because her views on homosexuality do “not comport with those of the university, and her opinions “offended” the homosexual community.

The First Amendment and Title VII of the 1964 Civil right Act make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual based on that individual’s sincerely held religious belief. University administrators obviously feel they are above the law, and are accountable only to the homosexual community….not the law and the Constitution.
A Muslim high school student’s intolerance for a service dog, needed by a student teacher with a disability has reportedly prompted the student teacher to abandon the final ten hours of his scheduled assignment at Technical High School in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Islam forbids its adherents from touching dogs. Minnesota has a large Muslim population and they’ve been involved in issues over their religion in the past.

British Airways has taken beef off the menu for economy passengers amid concerns about its “religious restrictions.” The airline has instead switched to a fish pie, or chicken dish option. Why? The Hindu community was offended. Following the airline’s announcement, the Hindu Council UK says “The Hindu community welcomes this decision and the news that it has been made because Hindus don’t eat beef.”
Does any country on this planet have a Constitution that guarantees a right not to be offended?