Here's a snip from the original column
--Yakov Smirnoff, the sage of Branson, Mo., says, “What a country.” So does my friend Stan Obrenovich, but that's another column.
Each of us has the right in America to have an opinion about everything and anything. And each of us has a right to express that opinion. We may even do it just about anyway we'd like. They used to teach that each right has a corresponding obligation. This isn't a law. It's just civic responsibility. We can assume a person expressing an opinion will develop it in a rational way. We should also be able to assume that that opinion will be expressed in a responsible way.
Or should we?--
Link:
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles/2006/12/03/opinion/opinion93.txt********************
My response
Dear Mr. Trosley,
Some people who are in the public eye feel they have an obligation to speak out against things they believe are wrong. There are millions of Americans who share the thoughts of the Dixie Chicks and do not have the ear of the mainstream press. To hear someone in the limelight saying these things feels a lot like vindication to those who've been more or less ignored for the past several years.
People on the right don't need to look far to find someone echoing their sentiments--all they have to do is turn on Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly--heck, ANY FOX "News" talking head--or pick up Ann Coulter's latest book of libel, venom, and misdirection.
One of the very few voices in television media these days that actually speaks to the thoughts of those on the "left" (though it's arguable that these aren't really leftists, but generally mainstream liberals or progressives who've been mischaracterized by the talking heads as being "extreme" when they're anything but) is MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. On Comedy Central you have Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert who speak to this segment of the population, but, ironically, none of these people actually consider themselves "liberals." They simply share some of the same concerns as those who do.
This vacuum leaves a lot of room for celebrities to step up to the mic and say things that many of us believe need to be said, particularly since our voices are more or less ignored by the Corporate Media--of which I needn't remind you--you are most definitely a part. I have to wonder if you cheered for the war as excitedly as the rest of the corporate media did, neglecting to ask the questions that any responsible journalist should have asked.
The rightward slant of the corporate media is obvious to those Americans who can still think critically and this editorial is a prime example of what I mean. I notice that you don't bother to criticize those who offer opinions favorable to the other sector of the population. As with all such pieces, the language and choice of targets speaks volumes as to the prejudices and assumptions of the writer.
The Dixie Chicks, in saying things that few others had the nerve to say, probably gained as many fans as they lost. The people who can't accept their right to criticize misguided policy and a President who has all but said he doesn't care what the people think (you know, the folks really in charge) should seriously examine their own prejudices and loyalties.
There are many of us who thank God (or any deity of choice) that someone has the courage to say publically what we've all been saying to one another. This administration has been like a runaway train, more interested in fulfilling the desires of its corporate partners than seeing to the needs and wishes of the American people. And it's important that someone with the ability to be heard above the din says as much.
If you don't like what they have to say, that's just too bad. They're obviously not speaking on your behalf. They're speaking on ours.
Thank you,
Saje Williams
Monsters are People too
The Infinity Project
http://www.sajewilliams.comedited for grammar
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