Glory be! I've just read a story by a Republican journalist that I not only agreed with, but which struck me as measured, sensible and containing several platitudes. Amidst all the often disingenuous-sounding talk of 'bi-partisanship' we hear in the election debates, I'm delighted to have detected the real thing in such a high profile place. Writing about the hysterical reactions of many Republicans to her recent denouncement of Sarah Palin, Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post writes:
The picture is this: Anyone who dares express an opinion that runs counter to the party line will be silenced. That doesn't sound American to me, but Stalin would approve.
Readers have every right to reject my opinion. But when we decide that a person is a traitor and should die for having an opinion different from one's own, we cross into territory that puts all freedoms at risk. (I hear you, Dixie Chicks.)
I'm sure it is coincidence that, upon the Palin column's publication, a conservative organization canceled a speech I was scheduled to deliver in a few days. If I were as paranoid as the conspiracy theorists are, I might wonder whether I was being punished for speaking incorrectly.
You can read the rest of the article here.
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