FREE SPEECH IS BEAUTIFUL, UGLY, AND IDIOTIC... WHO IS RENE GONZALEZ?
The Price of Freedom... Pat Tillman is a Hero

From James Taranto's Best of the Web Today. Below is a quote by Rene Gonzalez on the death of Pat Tillman. It's amazing how moronic and incredibly stupid some people are in the world today. I can accept people not agreeing with the war in Iraqi, hating President Bush, angered at American arrogance in our foreign policy, or even the simplistic thinking that allows some to chat "No blood for oil." But to call a man, who gave up his life to protect the freedom of others (whether you agree with the method or not) and who took a principled or moral approach to life (e.g. not swayed by money), "an idiot" and to say that he "got what was coming to him" reflects such a low-level of thinking it is disturbing that the University of Massachusetts in Amherst accepted him as a graduate student.

To make such a statement shows his ignorance in world history and the very nature that separates human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom. Mr. Gonzalez ignores that tyranny has only ended by force throughout history and freedom was always at the cost of human lives. Tillman obviously was not "defending or serving his all-powerful country from a seventh-rate, Third World nation," but freeing a nation from a sadistic dictator and fighting against terrorist without boundaries. If you have power as an individual or nation, you will become corrupted by holding too fastly and consumed by it until it rots your soul as with the Roman Empire and many individuals throughout history. Or you can see through a selfless eye the betterment of the world by spreading the gift of freedom because when you think about what we all take for granted it only taste much sweeter, and you are compelled to share it with others. Again, you might not agree with the manner in how this principle is carried out, but I believe you should respect, appreciate, and not ignore the value of it. It is not arrogance that leads most people to such acts, but joy and fullfillment. Only qualities such as indifference, laziness, fear, and selfishness would hold people back in sharing such a gift. America is called "the land of the free and home of the brave" because it has sought to spread that freedom to the world and truly knows the price of freedom.

Mr. Gonzalez ignores the higher qualities and principles that make us human and separate us from animals. When he questioned Tillman's intelligence in joining the army and forgoing millions of dollars, he placed us back to the lowest levels of human development. He assumes we should be satisfied with three meals a day, having a nice home and car, or even the higher calling to have an education. Maybe it is ultimately satisfying for him to have a position of power in teaching the youth of our nation, or corrupting their intellectual capabilities as he might one day. There are higher principles of sacrifice and selflessness that he forgets or doesn't know about or care to know about. These are the ideals that truly changed the world and continue to make it a better place to live. For every John F. Kennedy we need a Mother Teresa, for every Bill Gates we need a Cesar E. Chavez, for every Bill Clinton we need a Nelson Mandela... For every leader that made an impact in the world today in the spotlight or for their own gain (not negating their accomplishments and selfless acts), there were people that sacrificed their comfort, worldly success, or potential personal achievements for the greater good of mankind. Only later in life were people such as these recognized, and Pat Tillman is of the same fiber.

When I read such words from people like Rene Gonzales, I fully understand and believe the statistic that 20%-30% (forgot exact percentage) of pro wrestling fans believe that what they are watching is real. This is the same fiber that he is from.

Best of the Web Today, April 29th
Free speech is one of the glories of American democracy, but every now and then you listen to what people are saying and you wonder for a moment if it's all worth it. This is one of those days...

And one Rene Gonzalez, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, weighed in on the combat death of Pat Tillman, the football star turned Army Ranger, in Afghanistan:

For people in the United States, who seem to be unable to admit the stupidity of both the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, such a trade-off in life standards (if not expectancy) is nothing short of heroic. Obviously, the man must be made of "stronger stuff" to have had decided to "serve" his country rather than take from it. It's the old JFK exhortation to citizen service to the nation, and it seems to strike an emotional chord. So, it's understandable why Americans automatically knee-jerk into hero worship.

However, in my neighborhood in Puerto Rico, Tillman would have been called a "pendejo," an idiot. Tillman, in the absurd belief that he was defending or serving his all-powerful country from a seventh-rate, Third World nation devastated by the previous conflicts it had endured, decided to give up a comfortable life to place himself in a combat situation that cost him his life. This was not "Ramon or Tyrone," who joined the military out of financial necessity, or to have a chance at education. This was a "G.I. Joe" guy who got what was coming to him.

Cheers to UMass president Jack Wilson, who, the Boston Globe reports, issued a statement calling Gonzalez's remarks "a disgusting, arrogant and intellectually immature attack on a human being who died in service to his country."

In case you're still wondering if free speech is worth it, yes, it is. But there are times when it would be better if people had the wisdom to remain silent.