An Open Letter to the Opponents of Free Political Speech: Many years ago, as a young Secret Service agent, I was given an assignment. I was tasked to be part of a team assigned to provide protection for former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a known anti-semite and totalitarian despot. During the assignment, I vividly remember being asked by a local police officer we were working with, why would you put your butt on the line for this guy? Taken aback a bit, I responded, Im not, Im putting my butt on the line for us. What I was attempting to communicate was that I would have proudly sacrificed my safety to ensure the safety of a despot like Ahmadinejad because we are a nation that passionately defends not only the right to freely speak, but, even more importantly, the right to be RIGHT OR WRONG. Friends, this basic right to express an opinion is under unprecedented attack by a growing group of hyper-partisans determined to use economic, political and social pressure to silence any opposition. A few, of the many, recent examples include: -the current movement to remove Condoleezza Rice from the Board of Directors at Dropbox due to nothing other than her political views -the removal of Brendan Eich from Mozilla because of a political donation he made years ago in support of traditional marriage -and, the rescinding of an invitation to speak at Brandeis University from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born activist who has dedicated her life to speaking out against honor crimes against women in the Islamic world. In each of these cases, a similar model of attack was followed; isolate the target, attach a derogatory label to him/her, and pressure the host to deny them access. Always remember, when the organized Left begins to use terms ending in ist, phobe, ism and denier you are someone they fear. I am writing this for two reasons. First, because although I have numerous disagreements with many of my Democratic friends and opponents, I would passionately and vigorously defend their God-given right to express their opinions, just as I did for the vile Ahmadinejad. Second, I write this as a warning. You are doing yourselves no favors by forcefully silencing your opposition. You are stirring a Witchs brew among an ever-growing alliance of Americans, across the political spectrum, who are tired of falsely and maliciously being called racists, misogynists, xenophobes, homophobes, Islamophobes, and worse, simply because they have different political beliefs. This Witchs brew is coming to a boil and I am growing increasingly concerned with the talk I hear from everyday Americans who feel like this is not their country anymore as if they are not welcome, or the growing feeling of alienation many have expressed to me. Remember, tolerance is a not a one-way-street but it is a multi-lane highway. If my wife and daughter can forfeit away my security to ensure the right of a despot to freely, and safely, speak here, in our great country, whats your excuse for taping the mouths of millions of Americans.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 17:08:19 +0000
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