Two different views of freedom

On the morning of Our President's innauguration (Jan 20th) I turned on my TV to take in some of the news coverage of this event. I was happy to see the president in the parade and all the parties going on to celebrate this event. I even ventured over to CSPAN 2, who was covering the ANSWER coalition and their "anti-bush" rally. Even though I strongly dissagree with their opinions about our president, as Americans, the have every right to have those feelings and express them. I also like to see different viewpoints so that I can see things from all sides. I thought they were saying a lot of mean, hateful things towards our president and, to be honest, were acting very childishly. They were criticizing the war in Iraq and just about everything else the president has done during his first four years, saying things such as "Let's Impeach Bush" and such. And of course, they were showing the people turning their backs to the president on the parade route as the president passed by. THEN, Yesterday I was watching some of the coverage of the elections in Iraq. They were talking about how, even with all the threats from the terrorists to anyone who voted, there was still a very large number of Iraqis getting to exercise their new freedom to vote. Keep in mind in Saddam's days, all Iraqis were forced to vote (or die) and all the ballots were already checked "Yes" for Saddam Hussein. That's hardly a vote. But yesterday, the Iraqis were so happy. It showed them dancing and proudly showing their Ink-stained finger as if it were one of those stickers that says "I voted today". It's amazing how many of us here in America take our freedoms for granted. Those people at the ANSWER coalition are criticizing our president and the war in Iraq, a war to get rid of terrorism and finally give freedom to the Iraqis. Yet these people at the ANSWER coalition were exercising a freedom that few others in other countries have. There aren't very many places outside of the USA where you can criticize the president and say mean things about him like they were and still be alive, unbeaten, and free. But yet they put our president down for wanting to bring that same freedom to the people of Iraq?? Yes, a lot of our troops are dying in this war, but they are dying as heroes and brave men who are fighting for freedom, just as the heroes who fought in the Revolutionary war fought for our freedom from England, just as the people in World War II fought Adolf Hitler and his Nazis. Those men were true heroes as well, just as every other American who has made a sacrifice so that we could take our freedoms for granted and some of us can go on TV and bash the president. And some people always ask, Why does the USA always have to be the ones to defend the freedom of these other countries? Well if WE don't, who will?? You think France is going to do it?? I don't think so.. Freedom never comes free. It is a great gift that we have here in this country. I am so very thankful for our troops who are fighting for freedom in this world. I am also thankful to have a president who wants to bring freedom and democracy to those areas who didn't have it before. I bet the Iraqis won't be taking their new freedoms for granted anytime soon...

I live near one of the few polling places for Iraqis in America, outside of the DC area. I was deeply touched when a woman, (about 35 y/o), sweetly thanked our President on the local news for his courage. She also said, "Every drop of blood will NOT be forgotten!" "God bless you all! God Bless Pres. Bush!" and began weeping while saying, "I am too full of graditude and emotion, I wish I could say what is in my heart." Nuf ' said....... Sally

Mike, you wrote.... Why does the USA always have to be the ones to defend the freedom of these other countries? Well if WE don't, who will?? Because freedom is OUR value and it isn't everyones. Many cultures value other things higher than Freedom. It's hard for us Americans to understand because it's so important to us. Maybe the French value personal pleasures above providing personal freedom for other nations. In many Muslim countries fighting for the will of Allah is higher up on the priorities list than personal freedoms. So if the majority of Iraqis value our concept of freedom above everything else and they are willing to preserve it after we leave, than great. Otherwise it's just a great big waste of lives.

Hi, there! I agree with your post, for the most part, but just wanted to comment on your comment: "In many Muslim countries fighting for the will of Allah is higher up on the priorities list than personal freedoms." As a Muslim-American, I sometimes get a little defensive of how non-Muslims view my religion. I feel it never hurts to be vocal about clarifying misconceptions, so I'd like to take this opportunity to do so. Again, this is nothing personal, and there was nothing really "wrong" with your post. This is just my way of increasing understanding. 1. Your use of "Allah" implies a belief that Muslims worship a different deity than "mainstream" society. Muslims actually worship the very same God that Christians and Jews do (and we revere the very same prophets!). "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God." Just like "Dios," "Dio," and "Dieu" are the Spani****alian, and French words for "God," and not the names of foreign or exotic deities. Anyone speaking Arabic, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, uses the name "Allah" to refer to the same God. 2. I wouldn't say that "fighting for the will of [God]" is a high priority for any Muslim country's government. For corrupt regimes (and, unfortunately, the Muslim world, like most of the Third World, has lots of those), power is the highest priority, and God is actually very low on the list. (The actions of such regimes tend to be diametrically opposed to the principles of Islam.) For mainstream Muslim countries, economic and political issues top the list (as they do in most mainstream countries in the world). Individual Muslims do value this concept of fighting for one's faith (i.e., "jihad"), but it's not at all what most non-Muslims think it is. Rather, jihad is much more of an internal struggle to remain true to one's faith in the face of temptation. For example, part of my jihad is to resist temptation and drin****d tea at restaurants while my friends enjoy their margaritas. Sorry to hijack the thread (pun intended!), but I'm giving it back now. So, back to politics... and weight loss!