by Ellen Goodman

Boston Globe

01/27/05

The odd, and oddly infuriating, experience of agreeing with an enemy is often followed by an impulse to disagree, an urge to poke holes in the argument or to dismiss the honesty of the arguer. Anything not to nod in approval. I have been thinking about this ever since the president delivered the inaugural address that will go down in history, or down in flames, as the Freedom Speech. I have read it twice in the past week, separating the speech from the speaker. ...

'Life,' 'God' and now 'Freedom.' If the right wing ever gets a lock on 'Love,' it's a grand slam. ... Liberty is not the Bush Ideal, it's the American Ideal. Freedom is not an excuse for militarism nor is it a cover story for aggression, and there is little freedom in the chaos of war. In an imperfect world we will always have to make choices between allies and ideals...

http://tinyurl.com/559zw


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp