As a civil liberties attorney whose practice and writings are dedicated to protection of free expression, I do not believe the Nicaraguan record on civil liberties is any worse than our own record during wartime. A delegation of Nicaraguans came to New York University Law School some weeks ago to confer with scholars and lawyers about the new Nicaraguan constitution now being drafted. I had expected to see signs of totalitarianism, or at least repression. But the Nicaraguan delegation represented a wide range of perspectives, including representatives of four different opposition parties. It was clear from the Nicaraguans and from the draft constitution itself that this small country is committed to democracy, pluralism and free expression.
Free speech is a great source of pride in the United States.
There is probably no country with a better record of tolerance of dissent than contemporary America. However, we often distort our past in this regard. This is not a great history of freedom or tolerance during wartime. The effects of false reports cannot be quickly or easily countered in Nicaragua. Thus, it is roughly as if the soviets mined our harbors and organized and funded a band of malcontent Americans to amass in Canada and attempt to overthrow our government with military and terroristic incursions into the United States, while funding a newspaper in the United States that supports the deadly incursions and publishes destabilizing stories.