Stoopid Stuff

Freedom and Liberty? Not so much...

Main Entry: free·dom
Pronunciation: 'frE-d&m
Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : INDEPENDENCE

Main Entry: lib·er·ty
Pronunciation: 'li-b&r-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French liberté, from Latin libertat-, libertas, from liber free -- more at LIBERAL
1 : the quality or state of being free: a : the power to do as one pleases b : freedom from physical restraint c : freedom from arbitrary or despotic control d : the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges e : the power of choice

These are Miriam Webster's definitions, not mine. And as you are probably aware, these are words and concepts used to almost embarrassing excess recently by the Bush administration. He told us in the Inauguration speech, the State of the Union, and at every opportunity after the Iraqi elections, that our stated policy goal is to bring the gifts of freedom and liberty to the oppressed and downtrodden all over the world. The underlying subtext here is that we lucky Americans already enjoy all the benefits of freedom and liberty.

Now this administration is well recognized for it's baldface lies and manipulation of the truth, but this is something far more foul and disingenuous. Go back and read those definitions, then come back and explain to me how someone can so strongly and vociferously espouse those concepts of freedom and liberty and then specifically support an agenda that seeks to deny two honest, law abiding, tax paying citizens the right to privately and quietly marry the person they love. How can you be "free from arbitrary or despotic control", or even have "the power to do as one pleases" and be denied something so small, so universal, so unthreatening to society? It is OBSCENE for our political leadership to talk so boldly about bringing freedom to others when they openly and publicly deny it to American citizens. And the saddest part is they do this strictly as political pandering to the evangelical conservatives, to whom the teaching of tolerance and love of neighbor is criminal and unpatriotic.

It's bad enough to speak over and over about "Democracy and the Rule of Law", as Bush, Cheney and Rice are wont to do, when suddenly we are a nation that holds political prisoners indefinitely, without charges, without access to lawyers, courts, their families, or any sort of due process. It's even worse that we routinely torture them and deny them the most basic of human rights. For them to place the concepts of freedom and liberty at the forefront of their policy while rejecting the very accepted definitions of the terms fairly screams of their dishonesty and willingness to use lies to manipulate the people into accepting their agenda.

Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, Ms. Rice: I call on you today to either accept and allow true freedom and liberty for all American citizens or immediately STOP using the terms as they relate to foreign policy. Regardless of who voted for you, I can assure you we did NOT elect you to provide greater freedom for others than we have for ourselves.

posted by mikey @ 2:30 PM