Free Speech ?

I think that far more bad things have happened in this world because of people trying to do good things ..than bad things happening because of people knowingly doing bad things.

And when people think what they are doing is right , and they think that the reason they are doing them is a good or ( Godly ) reason it is far more difficult to take a look at what we are doing objectively.

I know that for the vast and greater part of my life I have grown up in a political and cultural environment that believes that the USA is Light , and those other Countries who disagree with us are an opposing force of darkness.

Not too long ago I was in an Christian Play ..where Judas said "I am not as black as you think I am nor are you as white as you think you are ". I think there is much to be said of that.

I certainly do not believe that this country has Evil intent ..when it comes to its politics or world view ..but we have made evil choices ...

When we list these choices we have made ..a curious thing happens ..either the list is dismissed as being too far back in the past ( Our treatment of the Native Americans for instance) Or that these are new and far more complicated times ( Our treatment of the Detainees at Guantanamo for instance ). We are list makers ...and score keepers ...ultimately we like to have our good deeds add up to outnumber our bad ones ...Lately it seems to me that in order to skew the count another curious thing is happening. There are some who feel that even the discussion about what is right and what is wrong ..is unpatriotic....

I don't understand that ...how can discussing openly our policies , our tactics and our strategies be considered un-American ? In our effort to export American Ideas , culture and government to the world we have made some mistakes ...what predictable result can we see in the future if we cease discussing our mistakes and errors ?

When I say openly and with conviction that the war in Iraq is wrong ...I am saying that as a caring citizen of this country ...I can be critical of this Countries Policies because I help shape and am a part of them .

If people do not agrree with me ...thats part of the process. I do not feel threatened or dismissed because others disagree with me. I do not think the world revolves around me ...nor do I feel the planet will slip from orbit and hurtle in the abyss of space if my thoughts and ideas do not become the standard by which millions of people will live their lives .

Heck I have enough difficulty living up to my standards on my own.

We need to be careful very careful that we not only praise " free " speech in this country , but that we allow it to be free...