Be Nice To The Pope

I believe strongly in the First Amendment of our Constitution which guarantees us the right of free speech. While I have written many articles in support of this belief, I have also at times, been deeply critical of what somebody else had to say. When making a criticism, I endeavor to avoid personal attacks and name calling. In general, I try to make the argument based upon fact, and avoid being nasty or hateful. You see that's how it's supposed to work. The Government makes no attempt to censor speech, and we ourselves abide by our manners and common sense. The only problem is that today it seems an ounce of common sense would sell for more than a barrel of oil. The Pope has come to visit our County this week. It does not matter what religion (if any) you practice, the Pope should be afforded the respect due any foreign dignitary. For example if you have criticism of the Pope over the Catholic Church's Sex scandals, make your remarks directly but avoid being disrespectful. This week Bill Maher, comedian and host of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, said that the Pope used to be a Nazi. Maher went on to compare the Catholic Church to the polygamist compound in Texas. I happen to agree that the Pope did not do enough to address the Church's many cases of child abuse by it's priests, but I do not make my point by name calling or drawing unfair comparisons. The Catholic Church can be, and is much criticized, but by and large the body of their work in the world is good. Bill Mayer has a distinguished history of making shameful comments. Among these were referring to American Soldiers as cowards, and suggesting that he was sorry that an assignation plot on Vice President Cheney had failed. Maher is an intelligent man who should realize that this method of getting his point across is counterproductive. Despite this, I am reminded of what my Uncle, a Korean War Veteran, used to tell me. He would say; "I may not agree with what they said, but I would, and almost did give my life for their right to say it". Mr. Maher, now that's American courage.