Ideas Don't Desert You; Ideas Aren't Treasonous

We All Learn In School That The Judicial, Legislative And Executive Branches Of Government Must Check And Balance Each Other. But Other Non State Institutions Must Participate In This Important System Of Checks And Balances As Well. These Checking Institutions Include The Academy, The Media, Religious Institutions And Ngos.

Individuals Have The Right To Pick And Choose Which Expressions To Condemn, Which To Praise And Which To Say Nothing About. Governments, However, Must Remain Neutral As To The Content Of Expression. And Governments Must Protect The Rights Of All To Express Even The Most Despicable Of Views.

Look, I Don't Know Whether God Exists. I Don't Know That. And I Tell You One Thing, I Am Not Frightened Of My Beliefs. If There Is A God Who Is Threatening Me With Damnation Because I Don't Believe In Him, So Be It. I've Lived My Life In Conscience, And I Will Suffer Damnation Willingly In Conscience Against A Tyrannical God Who Would Damn Me Because, On The Basis Of The Intelligence He Gave Me, I Have Come To A Conclusion Doubting His Existence, And I Will Continue To Be A Skeptic All Of My Life.

The Plain Message Conveyed By The New Administration Is That George W Bush's America Is A Christian Nation, And That Non-christians Are Welcome Into The Tent So Long As They Agree To Accept Their Status As A Tolerated Minority Rather Than As Fully Equal Citizens. In Effect, Bush Is Saying: "this Is Our Home, And In Our Home We Pray To Jesus As Our Savior. If You Want To Be A Guest In Our Home, You Must Accept The Way We Pray."

Freedom Of Speech Means Freedom For Those Who You Despise, And Freedom To Express The Most Despicable Views. It Also Means That The Government Cannot Pick And Choose Which Expressions To Authorize And Which To Prevent.