Tuesday, June 13
Freedom of speech can go to far
Dear Editor:
Freedom of speech is a right, but what is not a right is to defame one’s God, beliefs and a nation’s choices of how they govern.
Words and cartoons are powerful and must be used with respect, knowledge, and a thorough understanding of the culture to whom they speak.
Under the leadership of President Bush, Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, Islamaphobia has reached a boiling point. Nationalism is the right to protect one’s country and one’s people from harm.
Every nation will attest to that. Kurtis Cooper, spokesperson for the State Department states that religious and ethnic hatred is not acceptable. However, out of the mouths of the US Administration come words like, “the enemy”, “fight them in their land”, “it’s us against them”, “bring in the Kurds, then the Shiites and then the Sunnis will fall in”.
And one wonders why there is such political unrest and unease in the world.
It is the right of every human according to God/Allah to have shelter, food, a nation and security. What is deplorable is for a superpower dictating to the world that it is all right for the USA and Israel to bear arms, to maintain paramilitary units, to design and build nuclear warheads, sell armaments, and at the same time deny other nations the same rights. What hypocrisy and blatant misuse of foreign policy.
Why does President Bush dress his democracy in the skirts of right wing theology and then say if you differ in your ideology such as being an Islamist or a Communist, we will bomb the hell out of you?
What gives you the right to use “carrots and sticks” such as bribery, torture, and the Press in the name of the Stars and Stripes and Jesus?
Now that I have your full attention, why do you infer that Muslims do not know how to govern, look after their children, understand the judicial system, or banking? I must tell you that Muslims are very well educated, have strong work ethics, excellent health standards, strong family ties and discipline that the Western world would do well to emulate.
My wish is that we would all realize that we are brothers and sisters under God and as such live in Peace! ¶ 6/13/2006 12:46:00 a.m.
Freedom of speech is a right, but what is not a right is to defame one’s God, beliefs and a nation’s choices of how they govern.
Words and cartoons are powerful and must be used with respect, knowledge, and a thorough understanding of the culture to whom they speak.
Under the leadership of President Bush, Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, Islamaphobia has reached a boiling point. Nationalism is the right to protect one’s country and one’s people from harm.
Every nation will attest to that. Kurtis Cooper, spokesperson for the State Department states that religious and ethnic hatred is not acceptable. However, out of the mouths of the US Administration come words like, “the enemy”, “fight them in their land”, “it’s us against them”, “bring in the Kurds, then the Shiites and then the Sunnis will fall in”.
And one wonders why there is such political unrest and unease in the world.
It is the right of every human according to God/Allah to have shelter, food, a nation and security. What is deplorable is for a superpower dictating to the world that it is all right for the USA and Israel to bear arms, to maintain paramilitary units, to design and build nuclear warheads, sell armaments, and at the same time deny other nations the same rights. What hypocrisy and blatant misuse of foreign policy.
Why does President Bush dress his democracy in the skirts of right wing theology and then say if you differ in your ideology such as being an Islamist or a Communist, we will bomb the hell out of you?
What gives you the right to use “carrots and sticks” such as bribery, torture, and the Press in the name of the Stars and Stripes and Jesus?
Now that I have your full attention, why do you infer that Muslims do not know how to govern, look after their children, understand the judicial system, or banking? I must tell you that Muslims are very well educated, have strong work ethics, excellent health standards, strong family ties and discipline that the Western world would do well to emulate.
My wish is that we would all realize that we are brothers and sisters under God and as such live in Peace! ¶ 6/13/2006 12:46:00 a.m.
