"It is in our narratives that we explain ourselves to ourselves. That's a crucial matter in a nation which is, after all, bound not by common blood or ancestry, but by common fealty to a set of revolutionary ideals that begins, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident...' To those ideals have flocked men and women from every other nation on earth, each with stories of their own.
Granted, the challenge of incorporating those stories into the larger American story is daunting. The governor [of Arizona] seems to fear what kind of nation we'll be if we accept that challenge.
I fear what kind we'll be if we don't."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/15/1630659/history-tells-hard-stories-of.html
"Maybe they reach an understanding, maybe they don't. But in any event they learn a valuable lesson: that reasonable people reason their way through disagreements. And that the First Amendment confers not just a right to speak your piece, but an obligation to allow the other guy to do the same.
Instead, Miguel Rodriguez taught the opposite lesson: that it is OK to ban the unpopular or provocative opinion. Few things could be less reflective of American ideals."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/19/1636248/teaching-moment-squandered.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Amen.
Post a Comment