Saturday, June 16, 2007

Discretion

"Pete, it's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart." ~ Ulysses Everet McGill (From "O Brother, Where art thou?")

I wrote this enormously long comment over at Eric's place and then decided instead to go ahead and post my comment as an entry here, but after I copied what I wrote over there, and deleted it, I then copied another statement, thereby losing the entire content of my comment, which I failed to paste here first.

Does that make sense to anyone?

So, I am going to attempt to rewrite it. The original was brilliant, and this one will no doubt be far inferior to that one.

I begin with the original comment to which I was attempting to respond, (Parentheses are mine)to wit:

Erudite Redneck said...
Re, "Freedom of speech is not license to speak harmful hyperoble.
(sic)" (This statement was copied and pasted from Art's comment, made previously)

Yes, it is.

It is perfectly acceptable -- in fact, it is my patriotic duty! -- to scream FIRE in a theater if the theater is ON FIRE!

This country is on fire! And warmongering imperialists like George W. Bush and his lackeys -- using the concept of liberty as a makeshift human shield, as if she were a slut they can buy and sell, to hide their intent -- set the fire! Liberty?

They wants
(sic?) no liberty. They want an empire because they think THAT lowly of this country. They want it to be equal to the Ottoman, or the Soviet, or the Roman empire, the lowest forms of government -- beneath the worst of their subjects.

But we are CITIZENS, not SUBJECTS. And my First Amendment rights are more important that this stupid Iraq war, this president, or EITHER party. And if ewither
(sic) of you think othersise (sic), you are, in fact, traitors to the ideals of this nation. You've sold your birthright for a mess of porridge labeled "Bush," who is no conservative, no leader, no statesman, and no commander -- and you know it.

Yes. Well. I see we're back to an impasse.

God bless the Congress of these united states
(No capitalization? Could this be Freudian?): May it find its balls and take OUT this brainless, godless, soulless, senseless president before he destroys this country.

G'night.

Now, I try to be fair and acknowledge a commenter when said commenter makes (in my opinion) a valid point, and this time is no exception. ER makes a valid point.

"Obi Wan" Pelosi and Harry "The body" Reid, are indeed guaranteed a first amendment right to make statements in dissension against American policy. They can announce the war is lost, or the surge is not working, or any General with whom they happen to disagree with is incompetent, even when they have no experience in military command themselves. They have every right to say anything they want.

They also have the right to be wrong. And stupid. And disagreeable.

But I think they have to also make use of some discretion when making statements that could undermine the efforts of our military, and at the same time, embolden our enemies.

Yes, we have a patriotic duty to shout "Fire" in a crowded theatre when it is indeed on fire, however, wouldn't the chances of an ensuing panic be lessened somewhat by quietly going to each patron and calm urging them to leave the theatre quietly and orderly, yet quickly? Shouting fire would cause even more havoc, would it not? Wouldn't less people be injured by remaining calm than would be injured by a mad rush to the exits?

The press is complicit in this, too. Some of us are old enough to remember when the press used discretion. They knew more than they reported, yet they refused to divulge details that could compromise the country and politicians. They do that today, also, but not to protect The United States or it's leaders. Instead, they do it now to protect the guilty, tear down our leaders, and to undermine our country.

FDR, Eisenhower, and Jack Kennedy all cheated on their spouses but the average American didn't hear about it because the press didn't report the affairs. Babe Ruth and other famous sport stars lived scandalous private lives, but their accomplishments in their respective arenas were what the press reported. Reporting their bad behavior would have accomplished nothing positive.

Nothing.

Conversely, Today's media reports every negative accomplishment they can find, while playing down or even completely ignoring positive accomplishments of our leaders and our troops.

What word is the opposite of discretion? if there is such a word, it certainly applies to the modern media.

We all have the right to say whatever we want. But we also have the right...nay...the responsibility to use discretion, especially when refraining from doing so can result in catastrophe. Do Reid, Murtha, Pelosi, Durbin, and the others who continually harangue America and her troops use discretion? Does the press? Do any of them really care if American troops are killed as a result of their making use of their right to free speech?

I suspect the answer to that question can only be found in their hearts.

So, making liberal use of their first amendment right of free speech is not treasonous. But it certainly isn't helping our leaders and our troops, is it? What is the definition of "giving aid and comfort to the enemy?"

Taking advantage of our right to free speech to undermine our troops and our country's leaders isn't giving aid and comfort to the enemy. It's just not giving aid and comfort to our side.

Apparently, there's a fine line between patriotism and treason.

Hey! I think this post is even better than my comment over there!

17 comments:

Abouna said...

It is sad that the meaning of freedom of speech and of the press, which the founding fathers intended, has been so warped and perverted.

Those so-called "honorable" representatives and senators can pontificate like no nobody's business, but most of what comes out of their 'pie holes' isn't worth the air or time of day that they are using. And yes, most of what they have to say IS endangering not only our troops put our very nation.

DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL.

SpoiledBlondeQT said...

We are Americans and as a birthright we ARE allowed to say just what our heart feels, it is our upbringing that will dictait how we say it without offending others.

Marshal Art said...

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
--Thomas Jefferson

The above was posted by a guy commenting at the same site. I agree with it wholeheartedly, but not for the purpose of justifying the inconveniences, which is what the posting of the quote implied. I find it ironic that those who defend the stupidity that eminates from the mouths of the Reids, Pelosis, Murthas, the bile that drips from the mouths of the Cindy Sheehans, Michael Moores, the anti-Christian hatred screamed out by the Rosie O'Donnells, would also back the speech stifling of Senate Bill 2, Hate Crimes legislation, the elimination of the tax-exempt status for churches for political speech, and McCain/Feingold. On the one hand you've got the defense of the slanderous, the obscene, the profane, the distorting lie by the left. On the other, they want to quiet the speech of those preaching the Word, those informing the public of hushed up political dealings, talk show discussion, blogger and web-site reporting and other efforts by the right to express themselves. It's generally a case of free speech when it's their speech. But don't correct their lies, distortions or mistakes. That would be hateful.

Dissent is not a problem. The use of misleading or distorted rhetoric is. Saying Bush is a war criminal might be an opinion that is protected, but it is also an accusation the requires proof. Without it, the speaker should be sued. Saying Bush lied to involve us in war is a perfect example of the abuse of free speech. It's so obviously untrue, but people still say it.

The worst is when political leaders engage in this nonsense. The accusations leveled against political opponents must have proof because of the impact it has on public opinion. Imagine having a large segment of the nation hating you because of lies said against you. Lies are not dissent. Lies are not protected free speech.

Trader Rick said...

Undermining our troops IS treason, Mark.

Mary said...

With freedom comes responsibility.

I love this quote from Pope John Paul II:

"When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society."

If free speech is not tempered by responsibility and conscience, it can become an act against humanity.

Free speech, without discretion, can be immoral.

And treasonous.

Francis Lynn said...

ER says, "May it find its balls and take OUT this brainless, godless, soulless, senseless president before he destroys this country." I guess rhetoric & hyberbole are ER's strong points, but he's a tad weak on rational, insightful debate, like all the libnuts.

The Left is great for telling us how we should live our lives because they know best you see, & they clambor aboard the free speech train to do that. But ya notice that they are just a wee bit intolerant of anyone who speaks contraire? Look at all the shout downs & disruptions of conservative speakers. They've been doing this since the 60's. You would be hard pressed to find such antics on the conservative side.

Discretion & the unwritten rule of respect are not the liberals or the media's strong points. They seem to have lost that sense of aplomb a long time ago. Now free speech to them is agenda-driven & so be it no matter how outrageous or damaging it my be.

Dan Trabue said...

The Right Reverend Abouna (Orthodox Catholic priest from the American Orthodox Catholic church – according to his information) said:

"DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL."

Really? Your church must be a barrel of laughs.

mom2 said...

Dan Trabue said...

The Right Reverend Abouna (Orthodox Catholic priest from the American Orthodox Catholic church – according to his information) said:

"DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL."

Really? Your church must be a barrel of laughs.

June 18, 2007 10:02 AM

But, but Dan, how can you talk like this when you got soooooo upset because some pointed out the heretical beliefs of your church and you were condemning them and trying to put a curse on them?

Dan Trabue said...

"you were condemning them and trying to put a curse on them?"

I tried putting curses on people? Like, what? May a camel give birth on your head?

I don't do curses. I'm not that mystical nor omnipotent.

Condemn others for blasting my beloved church (which they've never set foot in and have no idea of the joy and Godly love in that place)? Yeah, I probably did that.

But putting curses on them? I don't know what you're talking about.

jhbowden said...

marshall--

And dirtbags who use Jefferson to argue for hippie positions forget Thomas Jefferson led America's first conflict without a declaration of war. The fact that Jefferson made war upon Mohammedan jihadists of all people is ironically lost upon then. We have cities like Decatur named after the heros in that conflict, and the marines sing about the shores of Tripoli, but oh yeah, Thomas Jefferson, peace and love dude. WTF is wrong with people?

Abouna said...

Dan Trabue: So what is your basic problem? I'm sorry, but I do not believe in running around saying "Bless you", to every evil sinner that I run into. Yes, I am a priest with the American Orthodox catholic Church. You got a problem with that? Would you like to prove my information false? Have at it because you sir, will only end up looking like an ass.

Godly love is NOT accepting every filthy, immoral life-style that parades down the pike. It is NOT making nice to mothers who believe in killing their own unborn children. Nor is Godly love sitting back and silently watch as one's elected officials sell out your homeland. You have a problem with that?

Trader Rick said...

Dan, your curses aren't working.

Lone Ranger said...

And it isn't always what these drama queens on the left say, often it's what they don't say. They don't make a peep when our enemy uses torture methods that aren't used in even the most gory horror movie. But we pour some water into the face of a brutal serial killer and they react like hysterical chimps.

Erudite Redneck said...

Just saw this. Thanks for the press.

The funniest thing is when y'all call me a Lefty, or a libnut, when the fact is I'm more conservative than your stupid president when it comes to fiscal issues. And so, probably, are y'all.

Yet y'all cling to him like babies on a tit. Incredible..

And, hey, Abouna, re: "I'm sorry, but I do not believe in running around saying 'Bless you,' to every evil sinner that I run into."

I do. Bless you.

Marshal Art said...

ER,

I'm afraid I've got bad news for ya. George Bush is YOUR stupid president, too. Now take it easy. Have a shot of Dickel and chill.

We don't "cling" to the man. We criticize him when he's got it comin', and he's had it coming on a few things. We simply don't think he's "this brainless, godless, soulless, senseless president" some people do and so we will defend him against such baseless charges. That's all. You call it "clinging". I call it, putting down silly rhetoric.

Erudite Redneck said...

Tomato, to-mah-to. :-)

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