Thats very much true.. Back home, everyone I knew used to protest for ridiculous things, and I hoped the government had some control over these protests as they were "potentially" violent.. now, am glad they had those rights to protest.. after I came to US, I met some students from former soviet republics.. inspite of renouncing communism some 10/12 years ago, most of them shared a common trait, viz., they somehow seem to be very scared of speaking out against authority.. or infact, what they really think about controversial issues... apparently, thats the fallout of hailing from a communistic state - too much fear of authority and too much concern about agreeing with the majority (and thereby losing your individuality). Meeting them only convinced me that communists are the scummiest folks on the planet when it comes to suppressing FOE..
However, from what I'm seeing, they seem to have some counterparts on the right side of the political spectrum in this country. And some people seem to be glad enough to surrendering their rights to protest and disagree.
You know the joke Chinese make about freedom of expression in their country ?
A Chinese guy brags to an American guy : "You know, we also have freedom of expression in our country.. we dont have any problem with protests in our country.. we can always protest against American government in our country, just like you people do ;)"
Dont think most Americans realize how lucky they are that they still have the right to dissension. Its utterly naive of them to be parochial and blame liberals or conservatives, its just a democratic issue afterall.
regards,
Maybe since you aren't from this country, you do not understand the rights we have. For example....you have the right to stand on a corner, and hold up a sign basically saying whatever you want. However....should you choose to hold up that sign in the middle of the street, blocking traffic, you are no longer protesting, you are breaking the law and should expect to pay the consequences. The leaders and participants of the civil rights movement understood this. They wanted to be arrested to bring attention to their cause. "Protestors" today feel that they have the right to cause civil disobedience, and then also be unaccountable for their actions. There is nothing wrong with speaking your mind in this country....it's when you infringe upon the RIGHTS of others to live their lives that you run into trouble and should pay the consequences.