My friend, Heather, had an interesting post the other day. It made me think of the movie, The American President. There is a fabulous monologue at the end, and I'm compelled to re-print it. You should see the movie 'cause it's great, but I really believe in what he says. Yes, it's a fictional character, but the point about free speach rings true, especially with all of the recent censorship.

"Everybody knows American isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.' Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free."

Man, that gives me chills. So, Heather, that's my answer for you.