Fred Phelps is not one of the people I want to meet. His protests at military funerals and at those of gay people (especially Matthew Shepherd) I find detestable. Yet... with all that hate-filled rhetoric... we still need to let him speak. And that's because to defend my right to free speech I need to defend the rights of other people.
We are not in a theocratic society where the views of one triumph over all. We look to Jefferson and his beliefs about the state not supporting a particular religion. We look to the people who left one state or another to go to Rhode Island and set up a place where one religion wasn't given priority by the state.
And that affects how we talk in the public forum. My religious views affect what I vote for, what I support, what I do. But when I talk to those outside of my religion and vote I look for reasons that aren't determined by my religion. I mention these to ideals - freedom of speech and freedom of religion - because in my mind they are coupled. Our ability to worship as we choose is the mirror image of our ability to speak freely.
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