Speaking of Tolerance ...

As a service to whose who may not yet know or realize this Web-blog now presents the following historical, completely accurate and overtly truthful Public Service Announcement:

The Constitution of the United States of America - Preamble

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Notice that it does not say "we the people who think other people should agree with us or shut up, or get out or stay away" nor does it say "we the super educated and highly intelligent people" or even "we the people who only care about what interests us and to heck with the rest of you" but rather "WE THE PEOPLE" (inclusive of everyone -- even the idiot that lives next door to us who voted for the "other" guy the last 100 election cycles).

"Bill of Rights - Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

and again Notice that the amendment is very specific in that NO LAW shall be made regarding establishment of a particular religion -- so that EVERYONE can have whatever religion they want even if they don't want ANY -- especially if they don't want any i might add. and yet it also protects those that do want a particular religion or set of beliefs for THEMSELVES. as regards speech again NO LAW shall be made which abridges the freedom of ANYONE and EVERYONE from saying what they feel or believe even if they are complete ninnies in your (or my) estimation. Freedom of speech is not just something we have and others can have if they agree with us but rather it is , should be and MUST BE for everyone -- NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

By now, i am sure that some of you are saying "What in the world has gotten under his bonnet?" well its very simple .... my home town newspaper yesterday in the letters to the editor section contained a letter so filled with hatred and mean-spiritedness regarding what the author of the letter determined was an episode of "hate speech" that it made me very angry.

Did the letter writer have the right to say what he said? ... yes by all means they have the complete freedom of speech to say anything and everything they wish about a subject or person (within the court-ruled upon exceptions for libel and slander and hate speech as well.

and so my anger is not that he can say it but that he said it. As i read his diatribe (see picture accompanying in its own section for details). what got me so angry is the fact that he believes the subject of his letter should NOT have the right to say what he believes or feels because it so vehemently disagrees with the letter writers point of view. As a consequence of this blatant disregard for the rights of others to do the same things we are free to do i have taken the unprecedented step of writing my own letter to the editor (which i may and probably will post later as well).

It pains me greatly that we as plain old ordinary people to say nothing nothing of being proud free American people have gotten so entrenched in our ways that we cannot even politely agree to disagree and still remain committed to the common cause of AMERICA with those who have differing viewpoints than ourselves without resorting to name-calling and spewing vitriolic words at each other via print or in person.

I realize that non-religious types have a real problem with "being hit over the head with religion" in their estimation and i will grant you that some religious people i know are WAY WAY WAY over the tops sometimes (in my estimation) however if we take the time to try to look at the situation from the other persons view we might discover that the religious person has a deeply-felt calling to "proclaim the gospel in all the world" which means even you mister non-religious; and the religious person may discover that miss non-religious is just as serious in their NON-BELIEF in religion as they are in their BELIEF and perhaps just perhaps they could agree to disagree and let it end at that.

that is the wonderful thing about freedom .... everyone is entitled in our system to the right to life, liberty and the individual pursuit of THEIR PERSONAL HAPPINESS whatever that might be to them ... to pursue without fear of ridicule, intolerance, hatred, violence and forced behaviors. GOD BLESS AMERICA because of this and even if you are reading this and you don't believe in GOD ... he is still to be blessed because without that enduring belief in HIM this country would not exist as it is today.

there is only one reason that untold millions continue to try by whatever means possible, legal and illegal (more on that later too), to come to America .... its because we above all other nations and all other peoples have agreed for more than 225 years (almost 229 to be exact) that FREEDOM is worth living for, fighting for, and dying for. I will say again, the proudest moments and years of my life were those i spent in the US Air Force helping to defend my country ... and still today the greatest Americans i know are those who continue that service.

and so my fellow Americans ... its high time we quit with the harsh rhetoric, the acidic backbiting, the shameless affrontery of "one-upsman-ship" and remembered that like it or not we are all in this together and if we cant agree to at least peaceably disagree we will in very short order lose EVERYTHING that past generations so graciously gained for us with their blood, sweat, tears and as Thomas Jefferson so aptly put it "pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" to ensure for this and all future generations as well.

may we all agree that America is worth saving and put aside our petty bickering and even put aside our SERIOUS DIFFERENCES and work to ensure that Lincoln's nation "of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."