Wrong side of the bed

I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed...I am sure I will probably get some lovely hate mail for this but I am failing to see a problem with people not always agreeing with a decision the President makes or made and how disagreeing in a sensible fashion makes you unpatriotic?

While tooling about reading gossip crap off of the net I found a whole site (well a few actually) that reems celebrities for comments they made that were "unpatriotic." While I do find some of them to be really bad, in poor taste, made by being ill-informed or just based off of absolutely no logic what so ever, some of them really weren't that bad. But there were pages and pages of comments on the fairly normal responses on how these people were dim witted, uninformed, fascists and should be hung for heresy.

Although I don't always agree with all the decisions the President's made I hardly think I am not patriotic. Haven't these people ever disagreed with their spouse, their parent, hell their instructors in college? Isn't that the point in most classes, to create discussion, to foster investigation, to possibly change a person's opinion by the facts you provide?

So if Edward Norton says that from observation the President doesn't appear sincere to him and is possibly a mouthpiece why is that unpatriotic? Here's the full quote:

"I know in my gut, watching him, what a low-quality mind he has. Because I've been doing this since I was five years old, I know when a person is saying words that aren't their own - and it's as apparent as it could possibly be to me that he's a mouthpiece, and not even a good mouthpiece. Reagan was a B-movie actor, but at least he had the ability to touch certain emotional notes. Bush is just utterly incapable of it."

I personally don't think the President had enough foreign affairs experience at the time he was voted in for his first term. I didn't think the little tax breaks the middle class got were really worth it either to stimulate the economy. Does this make me unpatriotic? Because I don't agree with some of the choices he made? No one is perfect not the President and not Ed Norton either and sure as hell not me.

No one wants war, no one...not even Bush. Even to fight the good fight to do what's right, no one wants to be there forever stuck in constant conflict and turmoil. I don't want my spouse there forever, to be constantly separated from him, separated from his family, to see death or to have to kill. What pisses me off is that the celeb basher site fails to include the prior remark Norton made which says the same sentiment as me - that war forever or for and extended amount of time is hard. Its hard on me, my spouse, on Americans, just about everyone.

"When you have a vice-president saying that this is something that could go on for 50 or 60 years, invoking this perpetual phantom enemy, it's appalling," he argues. "I have family in the military. I support them and resent their being casually drawn into that kind of situation."

I disagree that my spouse or the military was casually drawn into this -that portion of the remark I think is really off. Saddam and his sons needed to go - period. Their ideas of justice and how to behave were appalling. How Udae and Usae treated women, not only violating them as females but violating their religious values, a faith that they apparently only meant to have apply to their "subjects" but not them was disgusting and foul.

But disagreeing with something someone says or something someone does isn't always bad, it doesn't make me an American Hater, unpatriotic or a flag burner. But when I disagree, I am reasonable about it. I don't do Code Pink crap and stand in front of Walter Reed Medical Center and play, no pick on the vulnerabilities of the wounded service members. And I would never protest at a funeral like Felps. I believe that everyone has the right to believe what they like as long as they don't harm those around them or shove their ideals down my throat. Pink and Felps both cause harm by inflicting emotional damage on those during their weakest hour. That's just wrong.

So by disagreeing with subjecting his family to a long standing war, constant conflict and strife or by thinking from personal observation the President isn't someone he finds very intelligent this makes a person unpatriotic? Its an opinion, I don't see him standing up in front of a military hospital protesting or holding up signs at a funeral that that says they died because God hates gays. He spoke out loud, in concern and disagreement - simply, calmly, and reasonably.

Those commentors bashing Norton as a halfwit, fascist were stating their opinion too but apparently, they are the only ones allowed to have a contrary opinion. The rest of us, must keep our mouths shut and agree with everything. Blind faith I guess? Or is it that we are expected to behave more like lemmings or 'yes men?' I am not 'yes man' and I never will be. I don't always agree and haven't always agreed with the President but I'll be damned if I am unpatriotic.

I will not be strung up for some deranged version of Heresy by stating a reasonable, logical, opposing opinion.