Free Republic

What does it mean to be an American? In a recent Gallup Youth Survey*, Gallup posed this question to U.S. teens (aged 13 to 17). Asked on an open-ended basis, the question allowed respondents to offer whatever answer came to mind. While some people might expect disinterested replies, teens' responses reveal a deep and sincere appreciation of the implications of their status as Americans.Teens frequently mentioned freedom, or some aspect of it, in their responses. One 17-year-old boy said being an American means having "freedom to choose what school I want to attend, what church I want to go to,...

Some European leaders are denouncing communist groups linked to the anti-war movement, claiming their opposition to war and oppression is selective and motivated by opportunistic politics rather than a pacifist morality. In Rome, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi evoked the murderous reigns of Communist leaders like Pol Pot, Stalin and Mao when he commented on the red flags displayed at anti-war rallies: "Those flags are red because they are stained by the blood of 100 million innocent victims," he said. "I think that putting them together with the flags of peace is a real blasphemy against peace." Italian Prime Minister...