Blog

09/17/07

This goes out to a select group of people, the people who, for my criticism of the war in Iraq, have suggested that I need to leave the country, if I disagree with the president. It should probably be read by any Bush supporter BUT if you support both him AND my right to disagree then this isn’t really aimed at you.

A bit of information about where I stand before we move on; I supported the war in Afghanistan. When the towers came down I wanted Justice (maybe even revenge). When we stated talking about W.M.D.s in Iraq I knew we were going to attack, and opposed it. When we did attack Iraq I did not protest (or even talk about it much). We were at war in the region and there were W.M.D.s somewhere so I bit my tongue and kept quiet. That stopped with the lack of W.M.D.s. When the reasons given by The President and his crew changed to “spreading democracy”, with out admitting they had made a mistake about the W.M.D.s, I became vocally anti-war. I felt lied to, and I said so.

(Understand that my first vocal expression of this was well before The President’s approval rating hit where it is now. In fact it was possibly at its height. So my timing (as always) might have been off. The first person I said anything too (well wrote really), was a friend of conservative bent. I said “I have been lied to.” He said he didn’t think it was a lie. He felt that “spreading democracy” had always been part of the reason for the Iraq war. While I disagreed with him (still do) he had a point. I had not necessarily been lied to, I felt lied to. So I was very careful about how I sated that from then on. )

I felt lied to. So I stated publicly that I felt lied to. Most people didn’t seem to care. Most of the people I knew personally seemed to agree. Some people disagreed. Some of those who disagreed called me “Un-American”. Now this is what angers me, on a personal not political level. When we disagree on politics; I will not attack you personally. I feel that calling someone who is a Citizen of the U.S.A., “Un-American” is a personal attack. I may think the Patriot act, is unconstitutional and goes agents what the founding fathers wanted for this country, BUT I am not going to call any one “Un-American” for disagreeing. In this country we have free speech; it is part of what every soldier in our history has sacrificed for. No matter how you feel about what I say, or how I feel about what you say, we are being patriots by saying it. I even stand by people’s right to call me “Un-American”. Part of free speech is that you can make ANY statement. However “Un-American” is a personal insult. It is an ugly hateful thing to say. Remember that this hate was thrown at me for “feeling lied to”, not for wanting peace, not for the way I chose to support the troops (keep them alive), not for even for supporting socialized medicine, but for “feeling lied to”. In other words I was a “traitor” for doubting.

I should point out that doubting and questioning what our leaders are doing IS patriotic and the opposite of being a traitor. But that is a political point…and I am here to make a personal one.

When you call someone “Un-American” or “Anti-American”, and they were born here, you are calling them a traitor. You are saying they have betrayed their country. That is not a light insult. It is accusing them of a high crime. If you don’t have proof of said crime it could also be slander. It is a hateful personal attack.

When I say “attack”, I mean attempting to hurt. Once you go to this level you are not making a point you are trying to damage my reputation. You are no longer supporting your view with argument; you are trying to damage your opponent instead.

When I say “personal”, I mean me. Not the views I support, not the group you have lumped me in to, ME, Bradley Austin Null.

When I say “hateful”, I mean full of hate. It is an action witch is motivated by hate and is designed to cause hate. It is an action that would be condemned by both Jesus and Buddha. It is an action that means your anger has become destructive.

So when you call me “Un-American” or “traitor”, you are no longer debating a difference in ideas, you are trying to damage my personal reputation because you hate me. Not my ideas, Me. Not my point of view ME. You have also proven that in your attempt to hurt me you will accuse me falsely of treason.

So to all of you who said that I was “Un-American” for my moment of doubt, if I seem a bit tense around you, it’s because you attacked me. I am indeed on guard when it comes to those who hate me, as you have proven you do.

Let me state (again) that this does not go out to everybody who disagrees with me. Let me also state that this should go out to some of the people who do (not that any lefties have done it to me BUT…). However if you think it would be OK to call me Anti-American for my liberal views, It’s not OK, It never was OK, and by calling me that you make this personal NOT just political.

Bradley A. Null

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president tight or wrong, is nor only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American Public.”—Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt