New York Sun suggests treason prosecution for free speech (2/7)
It is emphatically a patriotic act for people to protest on behalf of whatever cause they see fit in our country. And if some differ with the President and call for the use of no force and take to the streets peacefully to protest that, that's the finest tradition of America. It's not new. It's been the way the American people communicate with their government for hundreds of years. We settle our differences in this country through elections and through peaceful protest.
- Ari Fleischer
OK, John; this one's for you....
It strikes me as both interesting and profoundly disturbing that any activity that could possibly be construed as anti-war is being branded by certain inhabitants of the Far Right as "treasonous". I can respect, if not necessarily agree, with their take on dissent. Even so, I'd like someone to explain to me what it is about holding a dissenting opinion, and in some cases acting upon said opinion, that qualifies as treason? Since when does anything short of slavish, unthinking, unqualified support of our President qualify as treason? How could acting on one's Constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of expression possibly be interepreted as jeopardizing the national interest?
If Ari Fleischer, Shrub's mouthpiece, can get behind the idea of dissent, why not the rest of the Right Wing? What is about dissent that is so threatening? To some of us, that very dissent is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. If everyone marched in lockstep, we'd be...well, we'd be Iraq.
Those on the Right who would see fit to stifle the voices of those they do not agree with would do well to remember that this country was founded by dissidents. The Founding Fathers made certain that when they wrote the Constitution they guaranteed the right to dissent. Thinking differently is not a crime in this country- never has been, never should be. Much of what we as a nation have been able to accomplish can be attributed to those who dared to dissent. The trolls responsible for this sort of crap have every right to their opinion. The rest of us have every right to be terrified that they are serious.
Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly are doing the people of New York and the people of Iraq a great service by delaying and obstructing the anti-war protest planned for February 15. The longer they delay in granting the protesters a permit, the less time the organizers have to get their turnout organized, and the smaller the crowd is likely to be. And we wouldn't want to overstate the matter, but, at some level, the smaller the crowd, the more likely that President Bush will proceed with his plans to liberate Iraq. And the more likely, in that case, that the Iraqi people will be freed and the citizens of New York will be rescued from the threat of an Iraqi-aided terrorist attack.
It is one thing to presume that your opinion is correct. It is quite another to make the quantum leap to presuming that your opinion, in addition to being correct, is the ONLY tolerable and acceptable opinion, and that those who would dare to dissent should be marginalized and obstructed. Now THAT is a truly un-American position, and there is a place for people like you- it's called North Korea.
