Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thursday's Thoughts

The thought for today:

Don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve
the rights of people you disagree with
-Gerard K. O'Neill

I like to consider myself as a champion of both equality and freedom. (as a side note, i don't think that either are truly possible without the other) We as a nation pride ourselves on our diversity, yet are quick to fight over slight disagreements about religion, politics, the best brand of truck, or any other piece of minutia. I like to discuss these things, especially with someone that disagrees with me. I know that I've started making a point when the person I'm talking to has to resort to screaming. I just can't abide by someone resorting to violence or threats of "eternal damnation" to win an argument. If you truly 'declare for liberty' as Mr. Lincoln would have said, then you must respect the fact that the person that disagrees with you has every right to do so. I charge you to defend their right to be "wrong" as vehemently as you would defend your rights to be "right". I believe in the deepest part of my heart that this is what the founding fathers wanted for our country. We hold ourselves to be the beacon of freedom for the world, lets get back to acting like it.

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