Facebook shows you more than the trivia of your friends' lives. It also shows you their politics, and how they think about the world. This can be fascinating and unsettling.
For example, some people I like recently joined Petition To Remove Group "Soldiers Are Not Heroes", a group that's a petition to remove the Soldiers Are Not Heroes group.
Leaving aside which group I agree with, the 'Petition To Remove' group scares the fuck out of me: their goal is to silence people who disagree with them. If you want to engage the "Soldiers Are Not Heroes" group in vigorous debate, argue with them, call them names, start a group called 'Members Of The "Soldiers Are Not Heroes" Group Are Clueless Ingrates' - fine. That's freedom in action. Let both sides make their cases.
But remove them from Facebook because you don't like what they're saying? Shut them down to shut them up? What could be less free, less noble, less American, than that? That's not what our troops are fighting for. That's the kind of death-to-unbelievers intolerance they're fighting against.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Colonel Barfoot Should Take His Flagpole Down
First, this isn't about the American flag. The Sussex Square Homeowners Association (SSHA) has no objection to American flags. It's about whether the colonel or anyone else in the community can fly any flag on a 21-foot front-yard flagpole. The SSHA says no.
Second, the colonel's military service and heroism are wonderful, but irrelevant. Would you say yes to a flagpole for the colonel, but no to a flagpole for draft dodgers like Bill Clinton or Dick Cheney? What if the stoner down the street wants a 50-foot flagpole for his Steal Your Face flag? Does he get it if he's a veteran, otherwise no?
Finally, this is about honoring a contract. When you buy a house that's managed by a homeowners association, you agree in writing to follow their rules. If you don't want to abide by their decisions, don't buy the house. But you shouldn't expect to have it both ways.
(If you need background, here's the Richmond Times-Dispatch article, and here's the misleadingly-titled Facebook page.)
Second, the colonel's military service and heroism are wonderful, but irrelevant. Would you say yes to a flagpole for the colonel, but no to a flagpole for draft dodgers like Bill Clinton or Dick Cheney? What if the stoner down the street wants a 50-foot flagpole for his Steal Your Face flag? Does he get it if he's a veteran, otherwise no?
Finally, this is about honoring a contract. When you buy a house that's managed by a homeowners association, you agree in writing to follow their rules. If you don't want to abide by their decisions, don't buy the house. But you shouldn't expect to have it both ways.
(If you need background, here's the Richmond Times-Dispatch article, and here's the misleadingly-titled Facebook page.)
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