Criticism of government is not only a right, it is an obligation.
You have a right to express your opinion. You do not have a right to suppress mine.
The former mayor of New York City said he doubts that President Obama loves America. Rudolph Giuliani's reasons for this are not yet fully clear, and may have something to do with Obama's recent comments on terrorism in the name of religion.
In any case, Obama criticized those who lumped all followers of Islam into one terrorist faction. This is not what America is all about.
But to Giuliani, such a view is unpatriotic, and any criticism of America shows a lack of love for America.
Consider this: Not only do we all have a right to criticize what happens in America, we have an obligation to do so. This includes the right -- indeed the obligation -- to criticize government, its policies, and the actions of a few or of the many.
Giuliani has the right, of course, to disagree with the President and to criticize his actions and policies. Republicans especially have been making a campaign of it.
Time was, during the tenure of the last Republican President, the attitude of many consrvatives was this: You cannot criticize the President, because he is the President. You must always agree. This swiftly changed, however, when a Democrat was elected. Now, disagreement, criticism, attack and opposition to whatever this current Democratic President says or does is mandatory among the Radical Right.
However, to label opinions you disagree with as unpatriotic can easily lead to suppression of all disagreement. And that in itself is unpatriotic.
No comments:
Post a Comment