(February 28, 2001) -- We learn very early on that freedom of expression is one of the basic rights guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights. But have you ever thought about the limitations to these rights?

I knew an old man once; his name was Kghpaki. He lived in a remote tribe in Africa where clothes were about as ordinary to them as flying cows are to us. One day by a cruel turn of fate, his hunting boat got sidetracked and he stumbled upon the United States. He began a new life, a life he chose to lead in his birthday suit. Not surprisingly a policeman on the mean streets of New York found him and took him to jail. Now jail was a place of many firsts for Kghpaki; here he got his first pair of clothes, a bright orange ensemble with matching bracelets.

Why was it so wrong for Kgpaki to walk around naked? Wasn’t he guaranteed freedom of expression by the Bill of Rights? Why should the government decide what is obscene, what is wrong and what rights should be taken away from the people? If the KKK is allowed to have a public march in the town square, how can we limit Kghpaki’s rights to freedom of expression? The government seems to think that the “minority rights” of the racist, blood-thirsty KKK should be prioritized over the rights of an everyday Joe like Kghpaki.

We’re all different people from different corners of the world with different views on life. What may seem ordinary to others may not seem appropriate to us. Kghpaki’s nakedness is his way of expressing himself and giving homage to his creators. The United States government does not and should not have the right to step in and place limits on his expression.

They should not be allowed to infringe upon his rights and take away his privilege to perform a tribally-accepted ritual because that is the equivalent to limiting his religious freedom, and we all know how politically incorrect that is.

Without our unique rights and freedoms, the United States wouldn’t be the place it is today; therefore, we should fight to keep whatever rights we do have left available to us. Do you want the government to be your daddy?