"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."
- Edward R. Murrow
"In this administration, you don't have to wear a turban or speak Farsi to be an enemy of the United States. All you have to do is disagree with the president."
- White House aide quoted in Capitol Hill Blue, June 4
When I write a column on an issue about which folks hold passionate views, I get a lot of feedback. Most of the feedback is usually from readers who are supportive of my perspective; some is from those who disagree. And of course, I welcome both. The right to freely express our opinions is one of the things that makes America great.
After my May 29 column featuring Sgt. Jimmy Massey telling of his experiences in Iraq, in addition to the kudos and messages of support for Massey's courageous stand, I got some e-mail messages from readers ardently taking issue with my column. Several of them asked: "Would you rather fight them over there or over here?" Whether they knew it or not, these readers were setting up what is known as a "false dilemma," providing a limited number of options (usually two), when there are actually more than that, in this case dozens, perhaps hundreds more. Fighting them over there and over here for one. Fighting them neither place for another. And it would be helpful to know who "them" is. Another famous example of a false dilemma is President Bush's statement "You're either with us or with the terrorists." Again, many more possibilities exist here than the "either/or" option put forward by Bush.
Another question that was posed by a reader after my last column: "Why do you hate George Bush?" Indeed, it seems that if you disagree with any decision made by George W. Bush, you open yourself to the accusation of Bush-bashing. Former President Teddy Roosevelt had this to say about those who believe we should march lock step with the president: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/columnist/56453? storytemplate=columnist
Yep.