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There is a price we all must pay to live in a free democratic society. That price is that we may be inconvenienced and imposed upon by those engaging in speech we consider ridiculous, insane, irritating, unpopular, wrong, etc.
It has been argued from the time we created a constitutional form of government that we might disagree with what you say, but we will fight for your right to say it.
So when people speak out in opposition to our own views are we going to condemn their right to say it because we disagree with the content of their speech? I hope we will stand by their right to dissent.
WE all need to be concerned about 'free speech zones' set up blocks away from our leaders speaking. Likewise, when our leaders speak as our elected officials, we should be very worried that no one is allowed to attend except the party supporters of the elected officials. And when those licensed to use the public airways adopt and promote a partisan position that marginalizes the opposition position without giving them an opportunity to be heard, we should speak out.
The danger of allowing law enforcement officers to use 'rough tactics' on those espousing unpopular views is that it deters others from speaking out on legitimate issues because of fear they will suffer similar treatment. It also puts a public face on such treatment as being the policy of our government, just like the failure to investigate and punish those involved in torture by our government presents to the rest of the world that we condone it as a country.
There are hundreds of examples that could be cited here, but take a moment and recall that activities as benign as putting up protest posters with city approved materials got two people arrested. And when the White House has a manual which describes clearly unlawful activities as the policy for handling dissenters, should this go unchallenged? And recall the heavy handed tactics at the Repub National Convention in which 'protestors' were swept up and imprisoned overnight en masse?
We need to reject deciding who should be arrested based on the content of what people are saying as the basis for determining whether they should have been arrested.
A democracy without 'free speech' and 'the right to dissent' and 'the right to petition our government officials' is no democracy at all. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we will understand just what is at stake in opposing this Administration and its policies.
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