A Sacred Obligation that Supports the Freedom of Speech!

"With every privilege there is also an obligation. The obligation for the individual and for corporations which have had an opportunity in this country to make a lot of money is to repay for that privilege by paying taxes and not complaining about it."

Thomas J. Watson Sr., December 5, 1942, IBM Family Event

The freedom of speech is intimately interlocked with the obligation of listening.

When we stand today for the freedom of speech in this country, what is our most sacred obligation to preserve this wonderful freedom and ensure it remains strong for the individual, communities of likeminded individuals, and the press?

I would propose that it is an obligation to give fair hearing to each other:

​The obligation to listen.

Or, as my father used to tell me when I was a know-it-all teenager, "Son, God gave you two eyes, two ears, one brain, and a single mouth. Take the hint from Him who created all things: Observe and listen, and then engage your brain before opening your mouth.

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To read how Tom Watson was taken to task by Drew Pearson in "The Washington Merry-Go-Round" for his taxpayer statement above, ​select the button below. You may also find a story of two men listening to each other to resolve a misunderstanding.

Don't we need a little more of this in politics, business and spiritual matters today?

Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s 1943 Tax "Problem."