In Response To A Letter To The Editor, Vol. V

From The Virginian Pilot, 08.19.06

To the Editor:

Re "Fed up with the GOP" (letter, Aug. 15) by Roland:

Let me remind you that the #1 goal of all Islamic radicals is to kill all freedom-loving Americans, period. Please also keep in mind that fighting these radicals in the Middle East keeps the fight over there and allows you, [Roland], to live peacefully in the United States of America.

Terrorists seem to become more radical each day. We live in a different time and it may become necessary for us to continue our presence in the Middle East to ensure our freedom and way of life.

Don't blame the president or the Republican Party for wanting to destroy these radicals who want nothing more than to destroy us.

--Scott, Portsmouth

To Scott:

Did BushCo* pay you to write this little ditty? Or are you just a brainless twit who actually believes all this bullshit?

I know our current president said that the terrorists hate our freedom, but he was lying. It's what he does. Terrorists obviously want to kill us, but they don't give a rat's ass about our freedom. They're out to destroy us, not our freedom.

Let's be clear: the only threat to our freedom -- since 1776, for the love of god-- has come from within our own country, usually from conservatives like yourself. From the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to the McCarthyism of the 1950s to today's Patriot Act, NSA wiretapping program, and ever-blurrier line between church and state, our constitutional rights have been threatened not by outsiders wishing to do us harm but by fellow citizens hoping to make us more secure.

The founding fathers were pretty fucking clear on the topic of liberty vs. security:

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." --Benjamin Franklin

"A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither." --Thomas Jefferson

But I know you Bushies think all this founding fathers crap is overrated. They were radical, after all.

And I'm not exactly sure what you mean, Scott, by "our way of life." I can only assume this is some sort of euphemism for "our addiction to oil." Although I appreciate being able to drive myself to the grocery on a rainy day, I don't enjoy it nearly enough that I'm willing to send my beloved students to the Middle East (or anywhere else) to die procuring me those last few drops of black gold. I'll just gather up my canvas bags and walk. Oil is over, buddy, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't Dick Cheney arguing otherwise.

Lastly, this whole "all" thing (as in "the #1 goal of ALL Islamic radicals is to kill ALL freedom-loving Americans") is something you and your propaganda team might want to revisit. Even my 10th-graders know that "all" is the harbinger of stupidity and dishonesty. It's why they do so well on standardized, multiple-choice tests; if it says "all," it's obviously the wrong answer. No person with a brain gives any credibilty to what comes after "all."

We do, as you said, live in a different time. It used to be Americans gave a shit about their constitutional rights. There have even been points in our history when political discourse involved more than regurgitating the same line of bullshit the politicians feed you.

Watch all the Fox "News" you want. I, for one, am going to continue to blame both the president and his Republican Party for systematically destroying our civil liberties while using freedom as their rallying cry.

--Megan, Norfolk

*BushCo is a clever term Vikkitikkitavi uses and may very well have coined. I stole it from her. I needed it. Nothing else works as well.