In his speech against the Viet Nam war, Reverend King spoke about how the Government and its supporters were working to silence criticism of the war. He talked about how they equated dissenters with traitors:
Now, of course, one of the difficulties in speaking out today grows the fact that there are those who are seeking to equate dissent with disloyalty. It's a dark day in our nation when high-level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent. But something is happening, and people are not going to be silenced. The truth must be told, and I say that those who are seeking to make it appear that anyone who opposes the war in Vietnam is a fool or a traitor or an enemy of our soldiers is a person that has taken a stand against the best in our tradition.Right on cue, a raving wingnut attacks anti-war protesters as "anti-American", "scum", "vermin", "Communists", "anarchists", etc. (Communists? Anarchists?!!, this guy mustav just stepped off a bus from 1952).
3 comments:
As a U.S. Army veteran who is opposed to not only the violence and war but the corrupt government as well, I am happy to see that the issue surrounding dissent/disloyalty is still being brought up.
I am shocked how the many greedy cowards in the media continue to substitute one of these words for the other in an attempt to destroy that with this republic originally stood for.
peace
tg -
Thanks for you comment, and for your service.
ABFS
The water cooler guy is, unfortunately, just one of many who believe that patriotism = blind jingoism. They resort to ad hominem attacks and generalizations to label the 'enemy' as such and eliminate any real debate.
There are always those that will be labeled as 'evil' or an 'enemy' until such time as they triumph over adversity.
Consider Nelson Mandela. IN the 1980s he was labeled by Ronny Reagan and Magaret Thatcher as a 'dangerous terrorist." You don't exactly hear that criticism anymore...
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