Shawn Amos Quotes
Depending on your political orientation, the Dixie Chicks are either the great defenders of free speech or American traitors.
Amos, Shawn. "Shawn Amos Column." HuffPost, BuzzFeed, Inc., 2010.
Those who wanted to restrict freedom of speech during World War I argued that the popular will could express itself during elections:
In the latter part of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, one of the tactics of conservatives was to accuse liberal candidates and office holders of being un-American, unpatriotic, and disloyal to the country. The tactic goes back to the beginning of the nation when Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans claimed the Federalists were un-American--monarchists and Anglophiles. In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy attacked President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, Secretary of the Army Stevenson and many others for “un-Americanism.” Even wounded war hero, paraplegic, Senator Max Cleland was accused by Republicans a of being unpatriotic which led to his defeat at the polls. So accusing the President of being un-American, was that unique an act even though it shocked most Americans.
The important thing about rights is that they exist independent of majority opinion. The majority might want to trample the rights of an unpopular group or individual. Very often Islamic modernists like Serageldin are many among the educated Muslims but the majority views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists.
Shawn Ellis Amos is an American songwriter, author, blues singer, record producer and digital marketing entrepreneur.
