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On the meaning of freedom
by Robert Lyman
Recently, Keepandbeararms.com posted an article about the Emerson decisionto its Newslinks section. The article was written by a pair ofIndian-Americans (that is, the descendents of immigrants from India) andargued, in essence, that the Fifth Circuit had reached the correctconclusion in the Emerson case, but for the wrong reasons. Peoplefamiliar with the work of Akil Reed Amar, one of the co-authors, were notsurprised by his thesis. Amar has argued for years that our understandingof the American Bill of Rights--protecting minorities from overbearingmajorities--has its roots not in the work of the Founding Fathers, but inthe post-war Reconstruction era. It is a subtle argument, and would beregarded by many as purely academic.
Here are some of the comments from KABA readers:
"what (sic) did you expect from a couple of scumbag raghead traitors,probably in this country illealy (sic). kill (sic) ALL the ragheads, letthe buzzards sort them out!!!!!!!!!"
"Getting an explanation of our Constitution from liberal foreigners isanalogous to getting integrity advice from Bill Clinton."
"Don't try to tell how to read my Constitution, I won't tell you how towash your Camel."
The other comments did not include references to the race or allegednationality of the authors, but did seem to have completely missed thepoint of the article. Apparently the authors of the comments did notnotice that the very first paragraph of this particular article said thatthe Fifth Circuit had, in fact, decided Emerson correctly.
I will not bother to correct the error of confusing Indians with Arabs, asthese comments do. There is no point in educating bigots so they candirect their irrational hate more appropriately.
However, it is essential that we all become educated on a couple ofpoints.
To begin with, the United States is a nation of immigrants. The firstLyman arrived in the New World in 1631; I am the 12th Lyman man in my lineto be born on this soil. My wife's family arrived from Korea in about1975; she is the first in her family to be born in the United States.There is nothing--no right, no privilege, no honor or legaldistinction--which separates us. My family's long residence on theseshores has no relevance in any legal, political, or moral sphere.Anything I can do, she can do as well. Our children will intermix theblood of Koreans, Mexicans (meaning Spanish, Native Americans, and whoknows what else), Irish Catholics, English Protestants, and Austrian Jews.I cannot say what other groups might have contributed to my family, but itis diverse one, which by itself embodies the American ideal of toleranceand harmony. There is no one who can claim the right to speak for Americaby virtue of his blood, and there is no one who can rightly be called aforeigner merely because of the color of his skin. Foreigners are thosewho were born abroad and carry passports from other nations. Americansare those who were born here or have been admitted by our naturalizationprocess.
The second point is perhaps more essential. Freedom is not something thatone can have unless one is willing to give it to all his brothers andsisters. A nation cannot stand half free and half slave; nor is any groupsafe from oppression unless all groups are safe. Remember that theconcentration camps of the Third Reich were not reserved for Jews orhomosexuals, but were filled with people who dared to speak out againstthe Nazi regime. Oppression of the few swiftly became the oppression ofall.
If you will not fight and die for the right of Muslims to go to Fridayservices, you should forget about going to church on Sunday. If you willnot fight and die to keep brown-skinned people out of concentration camps,you had better prepare to be hauled off yourself. If you will not fightand die for the right of the punk on the corner to dye his hair green, youshould not hope to keep wearing your NRA cap. If you will not fight anddie for the right of a few foolish college students to picket atMcDonalds, you should give up planning your town's 50 million round march.If you will not fight and die for the right of homosexuals to do what theywish behind closed doors, then hope the sex police don't find out aboutany of your youthful dalliances. If you will not fight and die to insurethat foreign criminal suspects receive humane and ethical treatment, youhad best steel yourself for torture and long incarceration. If you willnot fight and die to protect Senator Feinstein's right to try to take yourguns, you had better get used to the thought police editing you localpaper's letters section. The only freedom you have is the one thateveryone has.
There is much talk of "treason" in the pro-freedom community. I submitthat there is nothing more treasonous than advocating the mistreatment ofa class of people based on the color of their skin. I suggest that legalsanctions against innocent people based on their religion are even morecontemptible than legal sanctions against innocent gun owners. We railagainst being lumped into the same category as armed criminals. Whyshould we group all Arabs together in the same category as a fewterrorists?
I submit that nothing Feinstein, Schumer, Clinton, or any of the Bradybunch has ever said is as un-American, offensive, treasonous, or dangerousthan the comments quoted above. Hitler, after all, is not hated becausehe murdered Jews. He is hated because he murdered human beings whohappened to be Jewish. Their humanity, not their mothers' faith, is whatmatters. I cannot understand how we have forgotten that.
Yes, in the U.S. one has the right to be a racist. And yes, I will defendthat right with my life. I will always hold hypocrites in the deepestcontempt. If you believe in freedom for all, then stand up for it. Ifyou believe in freedom for white Christian males only, then give up now;either you will fail and find others free, or you will succeed and findyourself in chains. Ask yourself: Is that the future I want?
May peace and liberty for ALL people prevail.
Mr. Lyman submitted this article to the JPFO Unpopular Speechpage.
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