As Mike alluded to last week, a celebration of Bull Durham's 15th Anniversary was cancelled because Baseball Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey thought Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon's appearance would put the lives of our fighting men and women in grave danger. He thought this because of their anti-war stance and surmised, ignorantly, that this meant they were unAmerican and unpatriotic.
Let me be frank. This personal attack against Robbins and Sarandan is shameful. It is difficult for me to understand how anyone could make such an utterly stupid statement. Worse yet, it started out as an utterly stupid assumption, which means it required serious thought. Add to this that many people feel this way, and you can only wonder if we've all slipped into the Twilight Zone and it has taken us back to 1940's Germany.
Put their lives in danger? Give me a break. This thinking goes in line with the facist morons of the past. In an attempt to show his Patriotism, he did the most unpatriotic thing he could have done. He decided to act UnAmerican. That's right. UNAMERICAN!
It seems a lot of people have forgotten what being an American is all about, and what our duty to our country, and ALL people who make up our country, REALLY is!
Let's take a look at something a lot of people suprisingly seem to have either forgotten about or disagree with. It's called: Free Speech. This means that I can say what I want to say about whatever I want to whenever I want to say it. In turn, I allow you to do the same. In essence, if you disagree with my right to do so, you then are saying you disagree with your right to disagree. As ridiculous as that sounds, that's what it boils down to. You can have a problem with what I say, NOT with my right to say it.
This is where something else comes into play that is sadly lacking right now in our country, and that is respect for others. Sadly, this seams to be something else the masses have forgotten about.
And then, of course, there's our RESPONSIBILITY TO QUESTION OUR LEADERS. Yes, it's hard for me to believe that there are so many uninformed observers out there who aren't paying attention to what's really going on. What really get's me is when someone clues them in using fact and history, they call them unpatriotic and bash them for questioning Bush and his administration. Nazi thinking at its finest. Actually, if you want to know the truth, you're unpatriotic if you DON'T question your leaders. It's our duty as American citizens. We are the ONLY chance WE have. Not a singular man who serves a 4-year term. I believe it was Ben Franklin who, when our nation was formed, was asked what kind of country we had, he replied "A Republic, if you can endeavor to keep it".
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandan do nothing other than exercise their rights as Americans. They have, in the face of unwarranted and undeserved criticism, given us thought-provoking views, which have offered more evidence to support those views than the Bush Administration has in any endeavor they've taken up thus far.
These two know more about being true Americans than any of those idiots who don't remember we live in the land of the free. Sure, I disagree with a lot of their views, but they have every right as citizens of this country to question aloud ANY LEADER in this country, INCLUDING Bush. It's their duty, and YOUR DUTY, TOO! IF you value the lives lost defending our freedom. And if you like your freedom, and can endeavor to keep it.
Take care and God Bless,
Matthew
