Home of the Free .....

[charmark]

I've just checked out the board after an absence of a week or so, and I'm sad to see that the thread which started with a protest at the absence of the French President from Reagan's funeral has been deleted. Would anyone like to explain why?

 

It was, appropriately, the French author and philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) who is credited with the following observation, though it might in fact be attributable to the British biographer S. G. Tallentyre, who published 'The Friends of Voltaire' in 1907. In any event, one or the other of them said -

 

'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'

 

Free speech is the essence of freedom. The way to deal with views you don't like is to defeat them by argument, not by censorship.

 

Myr speaks in another thread of beong close to 9/11; I gew up close to Lockerbie, so I fully appreciate what he means. But Justice is, and must be, blind.

 

Btw, though a Brit, I am in many ways very pro-American, and though I take this issue very seriously I am laid back almost to the horizontal about most facets of life. I just feel that your eye is sometimes off the ball and that you are too ready to wallow in introversion and self interest. I admire very much the measured views expressed by Dk (as in dkstories); if you won'y listen to me, listen to one of your own. And remember the essence of freedom.

 

Mark.

[charmark]

Oops!

 

For 'gew' read 'grew'; for 'won'y' read 'won't'. Yeah, I have been drinking, but at least it was Southern Comfort!

 

A very contrite Mark.

[Myr]

Mark,

It was decided to remove that thread due to the high amount of bickering that it was causing.

[miguelsanchez55]

Myr,

I run a group myself and as long as there isn't name calling and cursing, I let the members work things out for themselves. My group is for teens adn as you know, teens can be very high-spirited.

 

As long as we control our language and arent nasty towards each other, please let us adults work things out.

 

To all, I must apologise to you about my comment. I see that France was represented and I was out of line. Only is they had not come would I have been quite upset.

 

Take care,

Mike :sword:

 

Mark, I'm an American now living over here. I'm happy to say I really love it here. (also my b/f )

[Gentim]

I apologize for my remarks in the anti-French thread. If it has been correctly reported, the French President, Chirac, was off attending a previously arranged meeting with his Chinese counterpart. As long as France did have somebody at the funeral, there really isn't anything to complain about.