“This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperiled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths.”

And yet, there was far worse to come under King George W and his jesters...

How much more suffering and bloodshed is America willing to endure before the country comes to terms with the truth - its amazing how pride gets in the way of truth

Hi Reston. I was in your neck of the woods last week on vacation. Beautiful. Now....what about the quote? Seems to me that this is glossed over by all too many.

The Partiot Act comes to mind. Where are the opposing voices? We are inundated with fear-mongering from Washington and their spoon-fed media -- "be afraid, be very afraid" -- that is all we hear day in and day out. Those that speak against the neo-con agenda are labelled unpatriotic and worse -- some even get a friendly visit from the FBI. If a lie is repeated long enough, most everyone will accept it as truth sooner or later. We need what we have always needed: Truth, Courage, and the embrace of the Responsibilities that come with Freedom and Independence.

The Patriot Act is not the law I fear on a daily basis (yet). The laws I fear daily are the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Imagine how easy it is to say something that one of the protected class can malignantly misconstrue as a violation of these laws, and file suit. How many truly innocent comments or stares into the distance have been called sexual harassment? Careful what you say, Big Brother is listening; or , more likely, Big Sister.

By what measure of Simon Heffer"s freedom is contemplated by theory. Nature's law and differing philosophies of law have extremely different perceptions of — and, theories concerning inalienable rights, liberty, man's nobility, morality and justice. Those educated individuals claiming a scholarly proficiency in the Constitution today profess their opinion from the basis of legal philosophies such as a Greek natural law, legal positivism and maritime jurisdictions — that being totally alien to nature's law (physics / science, gravity, math, life, liberty, etc.).