-Caveat Lector- http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-oped- reese06020601.column Charley Reese Hold on to your right to speak freely If you criticize affirmative action or attempt to defend the South's history against slanders, you will be called a racist. If you criticize Israel's brutal treatment of the Palestinians, you will be called an anti-Semite. If you defend the Boy Scouts' right to exclude homosexuals, you will be called a homophobe. If you defend the right of unborn children to live, you will be called a sexist. If you are a Christian with firm convictions about your faith, you will be called an extremist. All of these are examples of what logicians call argumentum ad hominem. Instead of dealing with the issue that was raised, you simply attack the person who raised it. It has become common in this age of special-interest groups and bitter partisanship. You should be concerned. I say you because I am a genetic contrarian and will continue to say what I think without regard for who purports to be offended by it. I am contemptuous of name-callers but otherwise pay them no attention. I am also contemptuous of people easily intimidated by special-interest groups. Every American should pause and think of the brave people in other countries unafraid to speak the truth not just to power but to cruelty, murder and torture. How can any American shrink from a mere verbal confrontation? The American model of self-government devised by the Founding Fathers is a whole concept. If parts of it are destroyed, the whole of it is destroyed. Freedom of speech and assembly are guaranteed because they are absolutely necessary for self-government. If you are denied information or if certain subjects are declared to be off-limits for debate, then you will no longer be able to participate in self-government. Your freedom will have been stolen. You will be governed all right, but not by yourself and a majority of your fellow citizens. There should be no topic -- and I mean no topic -- that Americans cannot discuss and debate publicly and in full without being subjected to attempted intimidation by character assassination. If there is one thing that should be totally absent from American life, it is fear on the part of an honest citizen to exercise his rights. The only way to achieve that is for all citizens to make a firm commitment to defend freedom of speech. Freedom of speech, by the way, is really freedom of thought. There is no right of any government or group to dictate what a person thinks. In truth there is no reason why any topic, however contentious, cannot be discussed in a civil manner, except for the malice of certain groups. Whenever people reveal themselves to be uninterested in discussion, they should be shunned by civilized people. They are following the totalitarian model in which one's opponents are not bested in arguments but shouted down, intimidated and, in the end, coerced into silence. Unfortunately, television is the demagogue's medium. Television hosts like the drama of insults and loud voices. Here again, Americans should shun such shows and complain to the employers and advertisers. Americans frankly have not been that good at defending their basic rights, simply because they have been unwilling to defend those rights when they are being exercised by someone with whom they disagree. That is a fatal attitude. Unless everyone is free to speak, everyone else's freedom is in jeopardy. We don't have to agree, but we do have to learn to disagree without going to war. Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel -- CONGRESS.SYS Corrupted: Re-boot Washington D.C (Y/n)? <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
