Roughly 3,800 Americans have died in Iraq. If you ask policy-makers why, they’ll answer with some variation of this line:
“We want to bring freedom to Iraq. We want to make sure they have the same rights that we have here in America.”
In light of recent events, one has to wonder how true that is.
This isn’t another rant about the war in Iraq. Instead, it’s simply a question of how much “freedom” Americans actually have.
If we’re sending troops to die for something, shouldn’t their families enjoy what they’re dying for?
Just like how U.S. troops had the freedom to join the military, journalists relish their freedom of speech, as should all Americans. On Sept. 21, Colorado State University’s student newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, printed an editorial with the now-infamous four words: “Taser this … F*** Bush.”
The editor in chief, David McSwane, had expected a confrontation but probably not such a heated uproar for his removal as he received. McSwane set out to prove that if our country continues down this path of high censorship and indecency toward freedom of speech, we will lose the basic rights that have made the United States so great.
The controversial editorial also proves that law-makers aren’t in tune with the biggest problem our country faces – the war. The U.S. government and people are choosing to make a bigger deal over an expletive in a college newspaper editorial than the countless lives of lost American soldiers and Iraqi civilians.
Appealing to that notion, MoveOn.org and The New York Times were lambasted by critics of the liberal organization’s “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” ad that ran on Sept. 10. As a result of the dispute, MoveOn.org changed its ad to accuse Bush of “a betrayal of trust.”
This organization, like McSwane, did nothing wrong by slamming Petraeus and Bush, because they’re both public figures who are accessible to scrutiny and criticism.
The U.S. government affords the media and citizens freedom of speech and recognizes it as a source of information and opinions. People who read or hear news therefore have the choice to do so and also to take sides.
If a newspaper decides to print the f-word or print an anti-Gen. Petraeus ad, it has that right. Americans have no place to reprimand any media outlet for clearly stating their opinion or an organization’s opinion.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian and The Times have laid out excellent examples for the rest of America to follow: Don’t take your freedom of speech for granted and don’t be afraid to use it. Censorship of the press is an issue that must not be tolerated and is a war that can only be won in ink and paper.
Until our country gets its priorities straight and its First Amendment in check, it can’t progress. It’s as if the U.S. is so focused on censoring everyone that it has forgotten who the real enemy is.
Freedom of speech is one of our most fundamental, beloved rights, and if the government plans to change its definition, then maybe this isn’t a country worth fighting for.
