Letter to the Editor

A Freedom Fighter’s response to “Editor takes a piss.”

By Sam Murray

Senior, Sociology Major

Dear Mr. De Bruler,  

Thank you for using your freedom of speech from the safety of your computer, free from the threat of attacks.  That same freedom that you enjoy is a freedom that my comrades and I fought so hard for, several did not return.  Freedom of speech is just one thing that makes this amazing country of ours great.  

I’ll never forget walking through the Dallas airport returning home from my second tour in Iraq in 2005.  As I walked through the arrival gate there was a large crowd of patriots lining the walls, cheering and showering my fellow veterans and I with gifts, hugs, and kisses.  We didn’t know any of them.  They were simply proud Americans who wanted to express their gratitude to fellow citizens who stepped up to defend the freedoms they hold so dear.  

They were not the only ones enjoying their freedom.  As I walked through the crowd I made eye contact with one person who was not cheering.  He looked me straight in the eyes and called me a “baby killer.”  It was his right to say that.  I fought for his freedom of speech regardless of whether I agree with what he has to say or not.  

True, not all of my comrades have the greatest intentions when fighting in overseas.  There are always one or a few bad apples in every group.  The military is no exception, and apparently the Johnsonian Staff isn’t either. 

You say that “Our boys…are killers” after citing a few gruesome examples of deranged soldiers obviously violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  The same argument could be made for South Carolinians.  I throw in a Susan Smith reference and all of a sudden all South Carolina mothers are heartless, sick women who want to drown their children in the lake.  The logic simply doesn’t make any sense. 

You can’t stereotype everyone within a group by the outrageous actions of a few the same way I can’t make terrible comments about the Johnsonian staff because of the actions of one.  There are great people within your organization trying to do positive and honorable things just like the overwhelming majority of the men and women serving in the United States Military.

Our boys overseas and here in country are “freedom fighters.”  They are the greatest fighting force in the world and most of this country supports them whole-heartedly.  

“We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.”  George W. Bush.