QUOTE (Nativeson @ Mar 2 2009, 10:06 PM)
You might be living in the Soviet Union if Ayers and his communist comrades had their way.
And if we let the government stifle free spech, then "Ayers and his communist comrades" don't have to do thing. They've already won.
That's the point. If you suggest the government acts like old communist Russia, we are essentially giving up our American principles. We are old enough to not be fooled by McCarthy-esque witch hunts. Communism will never work as a system of government. In the end, it can either be a totalitarian state or an anarchy. The only way it could truly work is if the ones in powers were truly saints and would willingly let go over power (and that those who follow them down the road do the same). It depends on people looking beyond their own self interest.
Our own system of government works. It depends on our own self interest. However, it does require some controls. It requires a recognition that people have rights and, most importantly, people have a right to freedom of thought (which even goes beyond free speech). The fact is that Ayers has to right to speak at Millersville. He was invited and his background does mean that he has knowledge on uban education reform. Simply because you don't like his past, you don't like his beliefs, you don't like his education theories and don't like his politics doesn't mean his voice should be silenced. Doing that makes you more communist than Ayers. The First Amendment exists because of people like Ayers, people who don't agree with the government or even the general public.
Don't tell me that Ayers represents the communist threat when you are openly advocating acting in that communist way.
