President Donald J. Trump is, to say the least, a polarizing figure.
Many Americans enthusiastically support him and are happy to see him in office. Many others have quite the opposite view.
That's fine. The right to express our political views freely is one of the great advantages to being an American. In a lot of other countries, an opinion that differs from that of the powers that be could land you in hot water, or worse.
Whatever one thinks of our president, there should be respect not only for the office, but for one's fellow citizens. That means while it's fine to criticize President Trump and his actions, there should be at least some sense of decency.
Down in Fort Bend County, Texas, there is a controversy going on about the limits of free speech. The sheriff is considering charges after receiving numerous complaints about a white pickup with a large decal in the back window expressing the driver's disapproval with the president-and those who voted for him-in no uncertain terms.
In fact, there was one certain term. One that you still can't say on TV and we won't print here.
The sheriff wants to try and convince the truck's owner to modify the message, but if something can't be worked out, he may proceed with disorderly conduct charges.
In Texas, disorderly conduct includes "abusive indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place" and making "an offensive gesture or display in a public place" that could incite an "immediate breach of the peace."
The pickup owner, in the meantime, says she doesn't think she's violating any law and will not change the message.
It's tricky. In 1942 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "fighting words" are not protected under the First Amendment. But in 1971, it also ruled that the use of certain profane words-including the one on the pickup's window-should not automatically be considered fighting words. So what might happen is up in the air, though we suspect even the most profane political speech would fall under the Constitution's warm and expanding embrace.
In our view, the message on the truck's back window is vulgar and flies in the face of common decency. It's selfish-as is so much these days-and shows a lack of respect for anyone else.
That doesn't mean the truck's owner should be prosecuted. It just means she should think long and hard about what's she's doing, what kind of example she's setting. We hope she does just that. She-and anyone else-can express political views without the vulgarity.