Fear of free speech is the real enemy

I enjoyed reading the Oct. 3 letter “Democrats: Words, deeds do aid the enemy.” It was typical conservative Republican rhetoric. They know everything, they know what’s best for the rest of us, and they are never wrong. We’ve seen it in the media from sources like Fox News that people who think like the writer are already preparing themselves to blame Democrats and liberals for what looks like a lost cause in Iraq. Never mind that the U.S. should have never invaded Iraq in the first place, and that the administration lacked a security plan for Iraq and an exit strategy.

The letter attacks Democratic leaders for speaking out against the loss of civil rights and the atrocities committed in the name of the U.S.-lead attempt to bring democracy to Iraq at gunpoint, as aiding the enemy. Yet, I wonder if the writer’s type and hype isn’t the enemy within. They are against freedom of speech and holding their Republican leaders accountable. They support the Patriot Act, which diminished our rights and freedoms, and the ill treatment of detainees regardless of the fact that it was wrong, according to the Geneva Conventions and U.S. law.

If the interests of America, which the writer devoutly claims to be important, are not a transparent government, freedom of speech and civil liberties, then we all have a lot to worry about as long as his party is in control of our government.

KEN HANSEN

Snohomish