All Comments on 'The Price of Freedom'

I've always wondered myself why so many get up in arms about flag burning, feeling the same way you do about it.

I predict you will receive some vicious comments from a few narrow minded people who won't see that, while they may not agree with your views, it is your right to express them. (I don't need a crystal ball, lol. Most of the essays have received them. :D) ~Minx

Well reasoned. This is by far the best essay on free speech that I’ve read here. Though I haven’t read all of them, I’ve found most of them are far too simplistic, many with faulty reasoning.

While I agree with the overall sentiment you present, there's one point I disagree with: when you say, "To exert control over others, one needs only to cut off access to information. Burn books. Control the media. Eventually, people will no longer be able to think for themselves." That’s too glib.

While there are those – many perhaps – who will buy the party line, I think that many others will not. Without the ability to communicate with others, however, each of these will think that he or she alone has those heretical thoughts, and will be afraid, not only of persecution by the powers that be, but also of ostracism by his neighbors.

Freedom of communication, then, allows those to find others of like mind, to assure themselves that it is not their own thought processes that are faulty, and to know they are not alone. This reinforces their own courage to speak up, to continue to think for themselves, and to be active in protecting their own interests.

Lou (who has registered, but lost the password with a browser switch)

You are preaching to the choir here! I agree with you 100%!

Cheers,

Lalenya :^)

One comment and one thing to add to this well-written essay. The part that you should "Criticize your leaders." No doubt, but on the other hand, nothing wrong with praise either when justified. The thing on burning the flag though is what caught my eye.

Before my dad died a couple years ago we used to talk about alot of things-current events type stuff. I don't know how to label my dad and I try not to do that. Possibly somewhat conservative on most things, extremely liberal on others. He was in WWII, landed at D-Day, got medals and stuff like that. He never talked about the war until I started pressing for it a few years before he died. So anyway, I guess in one sense my dad was a hero if medals mean anything, but we talked about burning the flag. Now before anyone sits around thinking my dad was some old man that had lost his mind over the years, when he died suddenly at 82+ he was still reading a major city newspaper everyday front to back, news mags, and news programming; and he was still riding his bike a several miles a day, I asked him his thoughts on different things like homosexuality and flag burning among others.

His response on burning the flag kind of surprised me. He didn't see anything wrong with it. No matter what my dad said on certain issues, I generally took the other side just to debate and learn. All those guys, friends of his, that had died-falling under the very flag to protect it, why would he be okay with that. Simple response from him-"That's why we did it!"

Does that him unpatriotic-in my opinion it did the exact opposite because I believe when he said he understood patriotism. The military must have been important to him even though he gave his medals away to some 8 year old kid that would lose them(Okay, so when I was older I wrote to the military folks and got new ones issued for him)-but the only thing he insisted on for his funeral was a military service(which is quite touching by the way).

Nice job!

A truly strong, grown up democracy is confident enough to encourage debate. It is only a weak and precarious system that needs to surpress free expression, debate and, especially, criticism.

My father fought through two World Wars - a 14 year old boy in the trenches of the 1st World War and a 40 year old man again fighting in Europe with the East Yorkshire Batallions during the 2nd War.

Like Bearlee's Dad, his generation did it to help foster true freedom - not for them the easy heart clutching displays of flag wrapping "patriotism"; but the necessity to build on the good, criticise and change the bad, and try to create a just and honourable society, free from oppression both military and social.

By and large, the Labour Government elected after the troops came home, did a good job of social rebuilding creating far reaching, visionary social institutions, some of which still exist, almost intact today. Much of that progress was built on the strength of free speech.

Whenever I see a politician hiding behind his patriotic credentials, I see a charlatan.

Carry on criticising, raise the level of the debate, and don't let them get away with sound bites.

"Real ID pose very real threats to the ability of Americans to remain anonymous in their day-to-day actions."

Real ID just requires that to get a government issued identification that you be an American and the same American that's stated on that ID. If you want to remain anonymous, don't get ID in the first place. The government should not be in the business of creating false identities for anyone.

This well written essay is a strong contender to win the contest...good luck!

A spectacular piece of writing full of cogent argument. I only hope someone from the other side of the freedom divide throws his hat in the ring with an equally sparkling addition to the debate.

The only thing I felt your piece was missing was a few jokes but that's just me.

By the way, the movie on Lenny Bruce's career is well worth viewing - Dustin Hoffman was tremendous as usual.

You have my vote.