Letters to the Editor
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"Freedom" has become a marketing tool.
Reading this entry made me think of a matchbook I picked up at a convenience store a couple of days ago. It has an American flag emblazoned across it, and the word "Freedom" printed under it. The store it came from is run by middle eastern immigrants, who have patriotic signs posted everywhere, a relic from the days after 9/11 when they lived their lives in fear of retaliation for the actions of others. "Freedom" has also become a catchphrase of this administration, and a word that is often used by the far right wing, to rally the base around actions that in reality undermine our freedom. "Iraqi freedom" equals occupation, "preserving our freedom" necessitates stripping away civil liberties, wiretapping American citizens, detaining people for years without charges being filed and without access to a lawyer. In the name of "freedom" they attack the Judiciary, the only branch of government that is supposed to be free of partisanship. Under the banner of "freedom" they've dismantled democracy to the point where elections are no longer indicative of the will of the people, but rather the business interests of corporations. The candidate who can raise the most money and can pander the hardest to the most influential special interest group (the NRA, the Christian Right, oil companies, major corporations) wins. This country is no longer governed by the will of the people. They lecture other countries on freedom of speech, and then work to prosecute whistleblowers (while protecting members of their own administration who leaked a CIA operative's identity to the press).
I'm grateful to live in a country where someone like Colbert can do what he did, but I'm not convinced there won't be repercussions for his act of free speech. I'm relieved that his show is on Comedy Central, and not on a major network, because I suspect otherwise we'd quickly learn that his show had been cancelled. Even Comedy Central has recently censored one of its own shows (Southpark - the brilliant Tom Cruise/Scientology episode), but I hope Colbert's popularity keeps his show safe.