“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave” is a line in our national anthem. We sing it at every athletic event, political rally, and school function; but if words still mean something, then I contend that we are now neither free nor brave. When “conservative” pundits denigrated Pamela Geller, claiming her Free Speech Event was provocation and that it would undermine the relationship with our Middle East allies I had to shake my head incredulously .” Provocation” turned out to be the insulting term de jour chosen by many to vilify Geller, Spencer, Fawstin and the other brave freedom lovers in Garland, Texas. Instead of insulting her motivations and character every journalist and pundit should be calling her an American heroine.
After the attacks on cartoonist Westergaard in Norway, the death threats against Mollie Norris, and of course the horrendous Charlie Hebdo slaughter the American Freedom Defense Iniitiative took a stand for freedom of speech; one of the most fundamental American values. Laura Ingraham and Bill O’Reilly, and other well known and respected “conservative” pundits displayed their own character flaws of ignorance and cowardice by insulting Ms. Gellers honor. All of them had a meme that was very similar to the “Watch your step Jews”- the ones helping the other Jews onto the freight trains carrying them to hell. The only difference is adding the “Yes, but” Ironically, those of us who stand with Pam discovered the truth about those who many admire and discovered they have no backbone or principles.
My husband, who’s a Southern boy, told me about how he used to hunt for worms so he could go fishing. The best way, he said, was putting a stick in moist ground, then take a rough file or a saw to the top of the stick and go to work. Vibrations are then transferred through the stick. The worms don’t like that much and soon crawl out. Pamela Geller shook the virtual sick and all the worms crawled out. I don’t much like the worms and neither do the hundreds of thousands people who communicated their unequivocal support to Ms. Geller.
The latest outrageous Muslim law suit is against a Catholic University for having too many crosses! The insane reason is that they make Muslim students “uncomfortable.” The manager of a New York venue, Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, in Greenwich Village,(of all places) cancelled an anti-censorship theatre event.”because it was clearly an offense to Muslims.” The irony can’t be lost on even the most brainwashed. The Islamofascists have declared war on us; Jews, Christians, Americans, and anyone who believes that free speech is a G-d given right as declared in our Costitution. We are at a point in history where we can’t afford to take our enemies “feelings” into consideration. Until our attitude demonstrates the resoluteness of Pamela Geller’. Robert Spenser, Bosch Fawstin, and the other supporters of free speech at the Garland event we are no longer “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”