Peace

We just had a little bit of political correctness in overdrive here in Denver. A family put a wreath up as a Christmas decoration. Only the wreath is in the shape of a peace sign. The homeowners association, or at least the guy in charge of the HOA, decided it was a protest against the Iraq war and told the family to take it down or be fined $25 a day.

Of course this became a big honkin' deal. People offered to pay the family's fines and everyone was outraged.

I think there are two seperate issues here. On the one hand is freedom of speech and on the other is the right of people to peaceful enjoyment of their homes.

I don't have a problem with a HOA having a rule against signs for or against political issues in their yards or on the side of the house. This kind of thing can get way out of control and make for real problems in the neighborhood. Plus who needs it? You can get plenty of politics online, right? If the rules are spelled out before you buy into the neighborhood, and you sign off on it, you really have no beef.

The peace sign wreath is a non-issue. It's Christmas, "peace on earth, goodwill towards men," and so on. It's supposed to be about peace. The HOA backed down and the family gets to keep the wreath.

The larger issue, as far as I'm concerned, is the right to protest. I can't help but view everything from the perspective of a Soldier. I don't spead for all servicemen and women, but I'm happy to see protest. As long as people feel safe enough to go out into the street and carry a sign and chant slogans in opposition to the government, I know I'm doing my job. Every "impeach Bush" bumper sticker I see is simply a sign that we live in a free society.

Plus it's important that politicians on both sides see that people are paying attention. I don't have a problem being sent into danger on behalf of the American people, as long as it's a last resort and the people are behind the mission.

This is what pisses me off so bad about our current situation. Say what you want about the way we got into Iraq, but we had a vote in the Senate. Bush didn't take us to war alone. It's fair to say he led us there, but he had the support of most of the Senate. It's also fair to say let's continue to talk about our options and make adjustments along the way, which is what I think Bush has failed to do.

But let me say this about the idea of "dissent." Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." This may be true if you are speaking out against the popular opinion of the time, or if your words have the possibility of putting you in some kind of danger: physical, legal, etc...

The original patriots were in real danger from the Brits. The people speaking out against the Iraq war before we went in and the Senators who voted against the war were dissenting. If you post an anti war opinion on the web three years after the war starts, that's not dissent. That's an opinion, and you are entitled to it, but it doesn't give you some special status as a radical dissenter. The secret police are not coming to your door in the middle of the night.

So if you are against war in general, or against the Iraq war for whatever reason: speak out. Put your bumper sticker on, whatever. Hopefully the next time our leaders consider going to war they will do better oversight. But just disagreeing with the government doesn't make you a patriot.

What does? It's hard to say exactly. I'd say just support your country, appreciate the good and work to correct the bad. If you are one of those people who thinks we deserve to be attacked because of our terrible culture, you are not a patriot. I would recommend traveling to some third world countries. It might make you appreciate what we've achieved here in the U.S.