Media Watch

I want to tell an Iraqi person how I feel as an American. I am naive. I learned about America in text books. I learned about the world from text books. I have been given so much by our society and have put back so little in comparison. I volunteered for our military service as a promise and comitment to defend freedom, liberty and our American values. Luckily, I was not asked to fight in any war. I am truly a lucky individual. I was born into and inherited the principles of The New World, a place where freedom was born. We are not an old European country. We make no apologies for that. We are America! We are the United State of America. We are free people because our fathers and forefathers fought and died to establish it and maintain it. Freedom and liberty were gifts left by generations past. We came here to escape many injustices and built a land that is the envy of people of many lands. I am proud of my heriatage and I couldn't imagine living in another. ...

I was reading THE JEFFERSON MUZZLES the other day and it brought back a Dr. Phil quote from a couple years ago that has stuck with me, and it goes to the heart of secrecy. The thing that protects our liberties and freedoms most of all is the free speech principles of the First Amendment, which is responsible for keeping the government out in the open for all to observe, and thereby keeping it honest. If the government is permitted to operate under a veil, then it will most certainly be corrupt. One of the underlying themes of our form of government is distrust. Maintain a healthy distrust for the government, because when you start to trust it to provide for you, it will take away from you. Freedoms, liberties and money. But wait. That's already happening!