The freedom to offend

As the American military continues to war in Iraq, one of President George W. Bush’s favorite sound bites is that the military is “fighting to protect our freedom.” Whether they are actually doing that in Iraq is debatable, as almost three years and 2,000 American lives later, Iraq is no closer to being a democratic state than before.

What is not debatable is that while Bush claims to be the “freedom” president, he really is nothing of the sort, because American civil liberties and the rights the common man so cherishes have done nothing but diminish on his watch.

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of any democracy. As the great Virginian Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” And nothing is more symbolic of liberty than to say, shout or write your unrestrained opinion in the face of someone who doesn’t want to hear it. Once this great right is eliminated or encroached upon, democracy is eliminated and diluted. However, free speech is the sole right Bush and his extreme conservative cronies have decided to gang up on to attack.

In any spectrum there are varying degrees of popular and unpopular speech. Because of political times and aided by the way Bush so manipulates people to think he is the military, so if you criticize him you criticize them, one of the current unpopular forms of speech is anything against him. That political dissent, to be able to criticize the sitting leader, is crucial to democracy and to try to limit one’s right to do so, or intimidate them from doing so is so un-American it makes another George – as in King George the Third from England – appear a patriot.

Besides putting in legal ways to dilute free speech, such as the Patriot Act, there are other subtle ways this administration is secretly working to strip the common man’s rights away from him.

Weeks ago a Bush supporter tired of the protests in front of the Crawford White House. This hillbilly did not exercise common intelligence and turn the other way or attempt to have a civil conversation. Instead he fired a gun in the air to signal his displeasure. What was he trying to do? Police and many news stations swept it under the rug, but his intent was clear: intimidation.

This same style of intimidation is constantly and blatantly used by the Bush Administration to hide facts and manipulate the media from pursuing stories that would be damning to the President. Some want to know about the allegations that Bush paid for a mistress to have a abortion when he was a cocaine user in Texas, or where the weapons of mass destruction we went to war for are, or – lastly and most recently – why Bush won’t do what he said he was going to do, fire Karl Rove for being a motor-mouth to the press. These issues are ones that should be on the front page of any newspaper everyday, yet the Bush Administration intimidates the mainstream media into forgetting about them.

While we cannot control what the media writes about or reports, what the common person can do is exercise their freedom and not be afraid to do so. If I want to write that I think the world – and certainly America – would be a better place if Osama Bin Laden abducted George W. Bush and made him ride camels the rest of his life, no one can stop me from saying that because that is my opinion.

My opinion may be different than yours, and you are certainly allowed to retort, something many others don’t understand. Local Delegate Brad Marrs, a conservative republican for Chesterfield County, made defamatory statements about gays in a letter designed to raise money for his campaign. Marrs expressed an opinion that blatantly discriminated against a group of others and, as bigamist as his views are, he has the right to say them. At the same time, Marrs should not be mad when someone retorts by calling him an ignorant redneck.

That very same principle applies when people protest outside abortion clinics on Saturday mornings here in Richmond. I relish the chance to drive by them because, since they are expressing their opinion (Abortion is killing), I shout my opinion (You are stupid) out the window. Then they often look back at me with outrage because, oh no, someone dared express an opinion back at them.

After reading this, maybe you have an opinion about my opinions. That is great and I hope you will express them. There is nothing more I would love to see than people protesting with signs that say “Mike Dickinson is a jerk” because when I express my opinions maybe I am. After all, the freedom of speech is the freedom to offend, and that’s my right.

Michael Dickinson may be reached at mdickinson2112@aol.com