Lately, anyone who is believed to be against President Bush or the Republican Party is thought to be un-American. Some have been arrested, kicked out of campaign events and even fired from their jobs if they are not pro-Bush.
According to Tim Harper of the Toronto Star, a woman was arrested during a Laura Bush rally in New Jersey because the woman wore an anti-Bush T-shirt. Specifically, she blamed President Bush for killing her son, who died in Iraq.
During a Bush rally in West Virginia, a married couple was also arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts. Their shirts had the words “Love America, Hate Bush” on the back. Other protesters and hecklers were dragged from events by their hair.
People arrested for having an opinion and speaking their minds goes against our right to freedom of speech. How can someone be arrested for a stupid reason like wearing a T-shirt that goes against Bush?
So now, besides censoring the media, they’re censoring our clothes? What’s next? Shouldn’t we have the right to wear what we want and have our own opinions, especially during election time when we are encouraged on all sides to vote?
Bush has even stooped to screening before rallies begin. Only loyal Republicans are admitted into an event, even if anyone else has tickets.
Because one high school student volunteered for Democrats in the past, he was not admitted into a Bush rally. According to Steve Larese of the Boston Globe, another person was not allowed to enter an event because he was not a registered Republican. In fact, he was a Democrat. In addition, those who attend these events must sign a form agreeing to vote for Bush in November and include their names, addresses, birthdates, birthplaces and Social Security numbers. And that goes for just applying for tickets to any of the Republican Party events.
We should be able to listen to the President speak without signing some oath, promising we will vote for him in November.
Furthermore, not being able to listen to the President speak does not give the voter a chance to reconsider voting for him if they did not plan to vote for him in the first place.
Some of us just want to listen to what President Bush has to say and not protest or heckle him. And even if we do want to show opposition that should be ok as well. Isn’t that the way to become informed voters?
Shouldn’t we have the right to do so? Don’t we have the right to vote for whom we want and be able to change our minds?
During these events, it’s not just the police who are monitoring the activists. Secret Service agents are also supervising the arrests and interrogating those who are arrested. They are also trying to prevent the media from reporting anything anti-Bush, including denying the reporters access to the protesters. Some journalists who attempted to speak with arrested protesters were not allowed to return to cover the rally event.
This is another example of taking away our freedom of speech. How can journalists be objective and impartial if they can’t report both sides of the issue, especially if that means finding shortcomings in the government?
If you think these occurrences seem outrageous, there’s more. A woman in Alabama was fired from her job by her Republican boss because she had a Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker on her car. A man in West Virginia was also fired from his job because he heckled President Bush at a rally.
It has come to a point where we have the possibility of getting fired because of our party alliance. This is just as bad as being fired or not hired because of race and gender. It is discrimination.
According to Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” after anti-Bush protesters were told to leave an event, President Bush said, “We’re thankful that this nation they created 228 years ago remains free and independent and the best hope for all mankind.”
How can Bush promote our country as free and independent if we can not practice our right to freedom of speech?
Just because we do not have the same point of views as Bush, does not mean we are un-American.
Having the right to speak our minds is what makes us American and it’s what a democratic election is all about.