The Free Speech ThingSigh. This seems to be a regular weapon in the Left's arsenal. Cindy Sheehan speaks out against the war. Republicans criticize her.
Idiot columnist writes "Doesn't she have freedom of speech?"
The central question is not whether Cindy Sheehan is right or wrong, or even if the war is right or wrong; the central question is, does she have a right to free speech, or not?
Even Bush, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the object of Sheehan’s increasingly caustic wrath, defends her right to have an opinion.
Cindy Sheehan is being lambasted as anti-American, but what’s more American than speaking your mind?I dunno, saying that somebody's anti-American? This is such an idiotic argument, but it gets repeated every time somebody comes out against the war. The Dixie Chicks get panned for their comments, and the immediate reaction from the left is "What about their freedom of speech?"
As if freedom of speech means that you can't be criticized for what you say. Freedom of speech simply means that you cannot be arrested for what you say, with minor exceptions (yelling fire in a crowded theatre, for example). And indeed, I have not noticed President Bush having Cindy hauled away for violations of the Sedition Acts.
Note as well, that the columnist feels free to bash Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin for exercising their free speech rights:
Among those leading the charge are Bill O’Reilly, who labeled Sheehan’s behavior “treasonous,” and Michelle Malkin, who once suggested that John Kerry may have earned his Purple Hearts by wounding himself.And notice as well, that nobody on the right is trying the "free speech" diversion when it comes to Pat Robertson's latest blatherings. There are some that might defend his comments (although I haven't read many), but nobody, nobody, nobody is throwing up that smokescreen, because unlike the left, we understand that free speech does not amount to a "get out of criticism free" card.
