D-Day & Dissent

On this 65th-anniversary of "D-Day", I'm going to reiterate a point I made for Memorial Day: let's celebrate dissent.

Yes, dissent. And, for the same reason I said back a couple of weeks ago: those soldiers that landed at Normandy may or may not have had the same views as you or your at that particular time in history--some more conservative, some more liberal, some from a rich background, others poverty--I could go on and on. But, those soldiers served--and some died--for your right to have your views and voice your views without fear of government retaliation and/or intervention, and they served to protect those rights guaranteed under our U.S. Constitution. That's FREEDOM, folks.

I reiterate this point not only to observe the D-Day anniversary, but to point out how intolerance can creep into our daily lives--and I will adamantly stand against it. It was brought to my attention by one of my Facebook friends that he had been "de-friended" for what he believed was making a political statement. My response at the time was, "His/her loss". My response now is, "How un-American". One of the great things about our country is the many different views and cultures that at least try to live harmoniously under one flag. One of the things that our Founding Fathers wanted to avoid was the danger(s) of a "Theocracy"--meaning if you don't subscribe to the tenets of the state's religion, then there's something wrong with you and you're going to be punished. They also wanted to avoid the dangers of "The Crown"--abuse of power from an all-powerful King or Queen. That's why we have the checks and balances of our Democratic Republic form of government.

Once again, that seems to go beyond the grasp of the far right and far left extremists. Neither can seem to tolerate dissent, and that's not only a shame, it's just downright un-American. I think that anybody who would de-friend somebody just because of a disagreement in political and/or religious view(s) is just downright small, ignorant, stupid or any combination of the three. And, you know what? It's my right to say it. And, you know what? It's your right to disagree with me, and I can live with that. Ain't America great.

So, once again, let's celebrate D-Day by remembering those that began the Allies' march on The Axis 65-years ago, and remember that those men and women may or may not have had differing views that yours--but fought, and again, some to the death, for your right to have them, and express them in "The Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave."!!