We are responsible for our own actions

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Regarding the recent letters about the Friday, noon protests at Hewitt and Colby: Let’s take a moment to explore a deeper meaning of democracy.

True, democracy is not peaceful nor is it quiet, but democracy is not about rage, either. Yes, it can be “a raucous place,” even chaotic and messy, but as soon as it becomes a place where people on either side are threatened with, to quote one letter’s author, “personal harm, threats of arson to our property, vandalism to our cars, and actual physical assaults resulting in the need for police presence,” then it ceases to be a democracy.

We all have a right to defend our beliefs in a peaceful manner, regardless of political ideology. We are responsible for our own actions. There are irresponsible people on either side of the political fence and they hurt our cause, regardless of which cause it is.

One last thing and it is a critical point. Please keep this in mind: The Dixie Chicks have a right to say what they think about our country, Pat Robertson has a right to discuss politics, and even Mel Gibson has a right to be a drunken anti-Semite. We don’t have to agree, we don’t have to like it. We even have a right not to listen.

We also have the right, indeed a duty, to speak against it, but as soon as we try and silence it, as soon as we deprive someone of their job, burn their CDs, or even just try to shout them down on a street corner, we cease to be a democracy.

Do you doubt me? Ask an Iraqi.

Lisa T. Osborne

Everett