Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: W il Boss!!!

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1002-08.htm
Reaction to Springsteen Reinforces Value of Dissent 
by Judy Ettenhofer
"Ladies and gentlemen," Bruce Springsteen said to 40,000 fans at
Miller Park Saturday night, "it's time to impeach the president."
With a grin, the Boss continued his introduction of saxophonist
Clarence Clemons, suggesting "the Big Man" could replace President
Bush and be "somebody who knows what he's doing."
Some in the exuberant audience missed the line. But the woman behind
me heard it loud and clear - and wasn't laughing. In fact, she
convulsed in anger. For the next 10 minutes she ranted nonstop,
gesturing wildly toward the stage in center field. "You can't say that
about my president!" she screamed. "You can't criticize President Bush
that way!" Later, when Springsteen dedicated "Land of Hopes and
Dreams" to "our men and women fighting in Iraq and for peace for the
Iraqi people," the woman yelled, "I have a nephew over there!"
Listening to the woman's ravings, I stopped chuckling and grew
annoyed. Here we are at a dynamite rock 'n' roll show, and she's
throwing a hissy fit? Get a grip, I thought.
The more I listened to her, however, the more I realized she
exemplifies a number of my fellow Americans. You know who I mean - the
ones who shout down anyone who dares to question Bush's policies or
the wisdom of the Iraq war. They're hosting radio and TV shows;
they're writing letters to the editor and opinion columns. They're
highly offended at the "traitors" who don't fall into lockstep with
the president. They ceaselessly wave their little American flags.
Those of us who don't share their fervor are scorned as unpatriotic.
We're even told to leave the country, to go live "with the
terrorists." I hear echoes of the Vietnam War era all over again. I
lived through those accusations as an anti-war teenager and later as a
member of the 19 percent who opposed the first Gulf War, though the
criticism we received then was more muted.
Saturday night I fought the urge to grab the woman behind me and shake
her, to tell her we Americans are not clones, but individuals with
differing beliefs. That's the beauty of America, the bedrock of
freedom on which this nation was founded.
President Bush says he wants to bring democracy to Iraq and reduce the
risk of a terrorist attack on America. If this woman believes her
president, then she needs to realize he's put her nephew in harm's way
to protect and uphold what America stands for, which includes not only
her right to scream at Bruce Springsteen, but, more important, his
right to question the president's actions.
Two centuries ago, President Thomas Jefferson knew the idea of such
freedoms would need some getting used to in our fledgling republic. In
his first inaugural address in 1801, he reminded the citizenry:
"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the
will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be
rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal
rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate which would be
oppression."
It's sad and troubling that, today, some Americans still seek to
oppress rather than to protect the right of dissenters to speak their
minds.

 
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1002-08.htm
L'esempio eclatante di cosa succede ad una certa eta', ammesso che non
sia stato una battuta umoristica :)))
*LOL*
-Stefano