It's time to do some serious dusting (Alert, Liberal making sense)

Jackson has been complaining about Ice Cube's hit movie ''Barbershop'' and how some of its jokes about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and him have crossed the line of propriety.

I've seen the movie. It's funny, touching, thought-provoking and, at times, embarrassingly true-to-life. And, yes, Cedric the Entertainer's character - a crusty old barber - skewers Jackson, King and even the regal Parks.

The jokes made me laugh, but also made me uncomfortable because I knew the crusty old barber was attacking some sacred cows. But after my guffaws - and those of the near-capacity crowd behind me - subsided, I realized why.

This is America, the land where we are supposed to be free to think and say what we wish.

Jackson wants the producers to excise the offending scenes from any DVD or video versions of the movie - censorship.

The First Amendment protects the right of every comedian or comic actor to skewer any person or thing in striking distance. No matter how offensive or contrary their points of view may be, they have a God-given right to express them (even if God is the target of their jokes.)

This is one of the things I love about our country. I don't have to like or listen to the crusty old barber's jokes, but he doesn't have to keep silent because I don't.

Of course, I'm one of those people who will listen. Sometimes we need to hear views that conflict - even irreverently - with our own to remember why we believe what we believe.

I have the utmost respect for King and Parks. Both are saints in my book. They dedicated their lives to a struggle larger than themselves.

We black folks have gotten into the bad habit of tip-toeing around some of our respected leaders, refusing to examine them for failures or to discuss the ones we find. Problem is, pretending the emperor is wearing clothes when he's actually as naked as a newborn has never made him any easier to look at.

More troubling is that Jackson's call for censorship suggests that he thinks he, King and Parks have earned the right not to be scrutinized or challenged by black people.

Leadership that thinks itself above scrutiny is deluded at best and corrupted at worst. ''Barbershop'' is challenging us black folk to de-sanctify our sacred cows - which should not be confused with a call to send them to the butcher.

No person, idea or entity is above scrutiny. That's why it's perfectly fine for President Bush and Sen. Tom Daschle to square off over an invasion of Iraq. It gives all of us a chance to scrutinize both men and their positions.

It's past time for the black community to scrutinize all of its so-called leaders, from King, Ralph Abernathy and Malcolm X to Ward Connerly, Clarence Thomas and Jackson himself. And while we're at it, let's add the NAACP, the Nation of Islam and the black church to the list.

Let's add entrepreneurs, entertainers, athletes, preachers, teachers and even newspaper columnists.

The good, bad, ugly, conservative, liberal and moderate: Let's be willing to scrutinize everyone and everything that claims to lead or influence us. Let's turn over every rock. Dig into every closet. Dust behind every dresser.

If you need some motivation, go see ''Barbershop.'' After you finish laughing and applauding, put on your white gloves and go do your duty.

David Person's column appears each Friday on the Commentary page. He can be reached via e-mail at davidpe@htimes.com or at 532-4362.

Man, Dave Person's making sense.

I usually wait until movies come out at rental, but will try to see this movie. If Jessie Jackson doesn't like it, there must be something good in it.

And to Dave Person, Way to go. Think free. Look at what's right for America, regardless of race.

And if Bush is dorking up on the war, tell us why. We'll listen. But just saying Bush is wrong and invoking politics doesn't work. Tell me why, specifically, show me where he's wrong.

my email to Dave:

Dear Dave,

Super article,

I can't comment on the value of your article as I haven't seen the movie. However your article has made me want to see the movie. I figure if you can question the sacred cows, I can watch the movie movie and respond intellectually to you.

However, please read the following:

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more they say,
Had come to burn a Flag that day.

A boy held up the folded Flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button, shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.

"FREEDOM OF SPEECH", the OLD MAN said,
"Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn,
But before any Flag gets burned today,
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!!

My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all war.
But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach
Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE DAMN WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.

I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old Flag.
Now there's but one shot in this old gun,
So now it's time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You'll burn in Hell 'fore this Flag burns, son

Now this riot never came to pass
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag",
Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.

So the battle of the Flag this day was won
By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
THIS FLAG MAY FADE, YET THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.

So Dave, if you believe you have have freedom, thank a Vet. Regardless of whether they are white or black.

And if any white stands in your way to express your views, call on me, I'll stand with you, regardless on whether I agree or not.

Signed an Army War Veteran

Continue to write,

Keith

"And blew that snot-nosed brat to Kingdom Come."

Very big LOL.

Your post made me realize what inspired this poem....Barbara Frietchie..

"Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,
Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set,
To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Under his slouched hat left and right
He glanced; the old flag met his sight.

"Halt!" -- the dust-brown ranks stood fast.
"Fire!" -- out blazed the rifle-blast.

It shivered the window, pane, and sash;
It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.

"Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
But spare your country's flag," she said."

Guess there aren't too many youngsters (black or white) learning that poem these days.

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