Amazing, we are supposed to live in the most free country on Earth, yet, in school, they never taught us that this kind of stuff happened. Prison time for anti-war comments. Yes, that was here in the good ole U.S.A. And there are thousands of blind patriots across the country who would still have it this way.
I'm glad that they decided to pardon these people while we are in the middle of another time when moronic people believe that it is unpatriotic to speak up against your governments policies in a time of war. Maybe this will educate a few people. But, I doubt it... Source: CNN
World War I critics get pardons
It was a black mark on dozens of family histories that lingered for nearly nine decades -- until a journalism professor and a group of law students examined what happened to citizens who spoke out against the government during World War I.
On Wednesday, nearly 80 people convicted of sedition amid the wars anti-German hysteria received the first posthumous pardons in Montana history, including one who was imprisoned merely for calling the conflict a "rich man's war" and mocking food regulations during a time of rationing.
I guess it's better late than never, but someone should be told where to stick their pardon. As much as some might want it to be, freedom of speech doesn't make you a criminal.
Reminds me of my thread on DP about 'opinions'. There's no way that an opinion can ever be wrong as long as that's what you believe. The facts might be wrong but the opinion isn't.
There are people right today that would love to see people imprisoned for their opinions about the war in Iraq.
I better watch myself, I may be headed for San Quentin or Alcatraz.
Posts: 6723 | Location: Land of Lincoln, USA | Registered: 07-04-02
Originally posted by honilov: I guess it's better late than never, but someone should be told where to stick their pardon. As much as some might want it to be, freedom of speech doesn't make you a criminal.
Reminds me of my thread on DP about 'opinions'. There's no way that an opinion can ever be wrong as long as that's what you believe. The facts might be wrong but the opinion isn't.
I don't know about right and wrong with opinions since an opinion doesn't have all the facts anyway. There's such a thing as a unworthwhile opinion though. Because what good would an opinion based on inaccurate information be and would someone really want such an opinion?
Posts: 6529 | Location: Grayson, Georgia, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
I can remember during WWII there was a lot of propaganda that it was wrong to talk against the war because it affected military morale and that in turn got our fighting men killed.
There was even a radio program called "Hop Harrigan, American's Ace of the Airways" that had that theme at least once. It convinced me. We had to speak well of our side.
Most of the time, though, the program was the usual beat-em-up bust-em-up dirty germans and japs type of thing. Hop and his partner were always crashing/being shot down behind enemy lines and refusing to talk and being beat up by villians who spoke English with heavy accents even when they were speaking to each other. Hey, I was a kid, what did I know? Taste comes later.
Posts: 6596 | Location: British Columbia, Canada | Registered: 06-11-02
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