When the Chinese government silenced the voice of dissent during the Olympics, the media and many Americans expressed outrage at their tactics.
Now, when producers of the news show Democracy Now, filming a peace march at the Republican National Convention, are manhandled and bloodied by law enforcement coordinated by the FBI, where is the media and where is the public outrage? When a private home where protestors are meeting is surrounded by armed law enforcement and raided, where is the outrage? When a busload of protestors is stopped on the way into town, the bus confiscated, and the protestors left at the side of the road, where is the outrage? And when Amy Goodman, reporting for Democracy Now, leaves the convention floor to ask law enforcement to release her producers, and she is strong-armed, cuffed, and arrested, where is the outrage?
Is the new law of the land “don’t ask” for different policies, and “don’t tell” anyone you disagree or you may be arrested? The arrest of Amy Goodman, the voice of Democracy Now, for pleading her case to authority puts our democracy in danger. It is time for all Americans to express their outrage and become involved. If we don’t defend our freedom of speech and assembly, who will?
This article appears in Sep 11-18, 2008.