God Bless America

THE RIGHT ANGLE: God Bless America - Opinions

There is one major downfall to writing for a weekly paper. As I sit here writing my column, it is October 27th. I am a week away from the elections, and most of you will not read this until after they are over. I could take a week off from politics, but with everything that is about to happen in the next week, how can this political science nerd think of anything else?

This election season has been incredibly exciting for me. I've worked as an intern at the Bush/Cheney campaign since July. I've attended speeches, debates, rallies, and protests. I've been give the opportunity to make my conservative views known to the UNCG community by way of this column. I was even given the chance to debate liberal columnist Okla Elliot at Solaris a couple of weeks ago.

In turn, I've been ridiculed for working for Bush. I've been verbally abused by little old ladies who support Kerry. I have received large amounts of hate e-mail in response to my columns, as well as angry comments in my online blog and on the Carolinian website. At the Solaris debate, I received jeers, obscene gestures, and rude comments every time I tried to speak.

And you know what the best part is? I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.?
Every time someone yells, "Bush sucks!" in response to my GOP gear, every time I read a letter to the editor about how wrong I am, every time someone calls me a name, I am reminded of how great America is.

It's exactly what our forefathers wanted for us. We can hate our leaders, work to get them kicked out of office, and even threaten mass suicide if re-election occurs. We can burn pictures of Bush, we can burn flags, we can burn crosses... and okay, we can't burn abortion clinics, but we can protest them until our faces turn blue.?
Imagine living in a country where you live in constant fear of your government. Imagine not being able to pray to your deity of choice or speak your mind. You very rarely see large protests against the leaders in countries with authoritarian dictators. You can compare Bush to Hitler all you want to, but I have a feeling if you had compared Hitler to another crazy leader back in Nazi Germany, you would have been tossed in a concentration camp.

Although no one can agree on the exact wording of it, everyone knows that Voltaire said it best: "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I believe that with all my heart, and that's why I can despise Green Day's political views and still listen to their music religiously.

So go ahead, yell at me, call me names, tell me I'm stupid. If you see me on campus, tell me you think my column is the most closed-minded thing you've ever read in your life. I can't make you read it, and you can't make me change my mind, but we can all say what we want without fear that we'll get thrown in prison. It's the First Amendment that gives me hope even if Kerry is elected as president this week. It's my right to say how much I despise him and how I disagree with everything he does. And that, my friends, is why I love this country.

God bless America.