Freedom

[tn_8tiv]

I passed a restaurant last night that had a large sign that stated: "Freedom will prevail". I thought - yes, Freedom will prevail but only for a price! We can't take it for granted that someone will defend our right to freedom, we must support that fight with every fiber of our being.

With all of the threads posted over the past few days concerning our fight against world terrorism, I believe this is more apparent than ever. I further believe is fitting on this anniversary of Pearl Harbor that we, who enjoy freedom, offer our thanks to those that are fighting to preserve our right to freedom. Especially us that cherish the rights of Free Speech should recognize the importance of this issue.

Yes, I am a veteran of two "conflicts" and watched many of my friends pay the ultimate sacrifice to preserve this freedom, even for those who were dissenting against those conflicts. Yet,I'm sure those who paid that price would do it again if called upon to do so.

Today we are engaged in a new conflict. World terrorism is an ugly cancer that left unchecked will continue to grow and threaten these freedoms that we enjoy. After all, that is the ultimate goal of terrorism - the use of fear to repress unity of spirit and thus the will to fight for those rights. I have observed first hand people of other nations that don't have this privilege and I don't believe anyone who has tasted freedom would want to live that way.

This is not just the "military's" fight. All of the people who enjoy freedom must join in this battle. What can you do? Give those who are in harms way your love and support. Remember, as someone once said, "I may not agree with what you say but I'll die defending your right to say it". Most of us are not being asked to die defending this right but the least we can expect is that we will not criticize those who are. It's not just Osama bin Laden. Nor is it limited to Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other country. Oklahoma City proved that! Terrorism, wherever it exists must be rooted out and destroyed. This is the only way Freedom will Prevail.

Let's all of us "lit'ers" express our appreciation and support for those that are working to rid this world of terrorism. If you know anyone serving in our Armed Forces, send them a note to tell them how much you appreciate them and wish them a safe holiday season.

 

[PHANTOM5875]

WELL SAID!!!

Amen brother! I'm with you 100%. Thanks for putting it so well.

Phantom.

 

[Guest]

There is no part of me that is not proud of our service people. The sacrefice made willing for my sake and my childrens sake and all our sakes is something that should never be forgotten.

Freedom should be defended on all fronts. Never forget the excesses our government has engaged in in the past in the name of freedom. The list is long. The intenrnment of Japenese citizens during world war two, the house unamerican activities committee in the fifties, the wiretap frenzy of the sixties, the treatment of blacks in this country for so many years, the corruption of our democracy by paraniod Richard Nixon, the list goes on and on. Even the pledge of alliegence was written and introduced during our witchhunt for communinists. It is vital that we all be vidulent now. It is easy to say yes to anything the government invisions when they invoke national security. That is especially true now. In effect we have interred several hundred middle eastern men without even so much as a charge. Washington now has more power to invade privacy with new secret wiretap laws. I do not trust powerful people to limit there power out of a sense of obligation. I do trust our laws to constrain them, but when i see the constitution begin to be ignored i grow fearful. Our leaders are like children. Ever tell a child to go only so far? Ask yourself, have they gone at least one step farther? Be vidulent people. It is our country to make and it is ever being created.

 

[mc253]

nice job there alltherage2.....

Love hearing those neurons fire in that red head of yours....

Someone sooooooooooooooo clever may take some time to clear space in their private box so anothe r ocean stater can perster her?

perhaps????
roflmao
mc253

 

[tn_8tiv]

...Freedom should be defended on all fronts. Never forget the excesses our government has engaged in in the past in the name of freedom...

ATR, you are correct - mistakes have been made in the name of freedom. But, our Democracy has withstood the test of those mistakes, learned from them and grown stronger as a result. Apologies have been issued to the Japanese citizens and their survivors. Nixon was forced from office. Discrimination against minorities based on race, sex or religion has abated - not eliminated but at least progress has been made. We as a nation recognize our weaknesses and I truly believe we act to improve and strengthen those areas of weakness. Are our leaders immune to mistakes or even greed? We should always be alert to that possiblity and be prepared to take action (legally) if that situation arises. However, that should not intefere with our support for those who are sacrificing everything to uphold our right to speak.

p.s. If anyone has a good link to the Armed Forces email system, please post it.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

ATR, you are correct - mistakes have been made in the name of freedom. But, our Democracy has withstood the test of those mistakes, learned from them and grown stronger as a result.

A few thoughts and comments:

We do not live in a democracy - not a pure one anyway. We live in a representative republic.

I mention this not just because it is a pet peeve of mine that I need to trot out and take for a walk every time I hear someone talk about how we are democracy, but because it is a very important distinction about the nature of our government.

Why is it important? Because under a true democracy people are actually less free; the majority would prevail over the minorities and individual rights would not be as valued as the good of the whole. That is the difference between us and a lot of other countries where they do have democracy rule.

Moreover, we have grown away from those ideals and grown towards the wrong ideals where we have our leaders telling us we must give up or at least restrict our freedoms for the good of the whole. Are we really better off than we have been in the past?

In some ways sure we are; we don't have slavery, we recognize many of our Natural Rights better than before and we have prosperity unlike we have ever seen before. However, other rights are being slowly eroded away; our right to freedom of speech, our right to freedom of association, our right to own property without unjust confiscation, our right to bear arms, among others.

All of these things you and I fought for in one manner or another, and our ancestors, friends and relatives have fought for too. All of these things we are slowly loosing through apathy, a desire for "security" over liberty, a greed for power and wealth, and a short-sightedness that knows no reasoning.

tn_8tiv, I mention this all in part because I saw your mention of an "ugly cancer" which took me back to an earlier time that this phrase was used not to combat terrorism, but to combat communism, at a huge cost to our freedom. I see it used again, not necessarily by you, but by many others like Ashcroft, to grab power and to again take what we have fought for so hard.

ATR, you named Nixon - fine, I agree that he was wrong, and that what he did was wrong, and that he was paranoid. However, he isn't the only one that has been in the oval office that can be held up as an example in that regard - you name just about any president, Democrat/Republican/etc., back to the very first ones, save maybe Thomas Jefferson or his protege James Madison, and I can probably dig up some dirt about how they seriously infringed someone's rights somewhere for the sake of expediency, if not just pure lust for power.

My point being, it is our responsibility to keep an everlasting vigil and to fight for our rights at every turn, even when they are abused by those who we fight for. Our leaders won't do it for us - only the person staring you back in the mirror in the morning is responsible.