Banned in the UK: Michael Savage

On the way home from my child's soccer practice (FYI: for this and following articles I will be boycotting all British terms for the beautiful game: "pitch", "boots", and "football" will now be called, "field", "cleats", and "soccer"), I tuned the AM radio to a local station broadcasting the Savage Nation, hosted by Michael Savage. I listen occasionally to Dr. Savage and I respect his outspoken demeanor and the strength of his opinions.

Apparently Dr. Savage's words scare the British government. Apparently someone in the British bureaucracy has banned Mr. Savage from traveling to jolly old England. Apparently he is a dangerous man. He has been ranked by the British government with murderers and terrorists. His crime: free speech.

I am a bit of an Anglophile. My dream vacation is a trip to England: to eat in pubs, to partake of the fish and chips, to wash it down with a local brew, and to throw some darts. Mix in a visit to a Man U v. Liverpool match, side trips to the homes and haunts of favorite literary figures (especially the lake country of Wordsworth and Coleridge), and perhaps a sit in a club to hear the latest punk talent. But I may have to put my travel plans on hold.

As part of his show last night, Dr. Savage played one of my favorite songs, a song which I have never heard played on the radio, Am or FM. Growing up in the 70's and 80's in America, it was virtually impossible to hear punk or heavy metal broadcast. We kids violated the rules of the corporate music execs and we made mixed tapes and copied music on our dual tape decks. Part of Dr. Savage's appeal is that he opens every show with Metallica--power chords. Last night he spun the Sex Pistols: "God Save the Queen". This, more than anything Savage has ever said, makes me a fan. "No future, no future, no future for you".

England, I love you, but it is time for you to catch up with history. You lost the Revolution. One of the major tenets of the Revolutionaries who helped to rid America of British tyranny was the right to free speech. You tried to silence Churchill. You tried to appease Hitler. You need to know that the enemy that you must fight is not a conservative talk show host from America, the enemy you need to fight is within. The bureaucrat who tortures the English language into Orwellian newspeak is more dangerous than the Islamic extremist who speaks clearly of his intentions. The man who speaks out against both is a true champion of freedom.