Freedom of speech in difficult times

To the editor: Recent letters to the editor, written in outraged reaction to the student-run ad in The Survey, go beyond expressing their writers’ points of view. They border on being “ad hominem” attacks against the character of the student and his community, and are written with such vehemence one would think that a single high school newspaper ad could bring down the entire military establishment. I was particularly disturbed by the tone of Ms. Dembeck’s letter and the way in which she wrote about the Bruderhoff community, insinuating that they are lucky we allow them to live here. Also, references to World War II in Sutton’s and LeMay’s letters as an example of military righteousness don’t seem relevant, since the United States turned its back on the suffering of Jews under Hitler for several years, and only entered the war after we were directly attacked. The student’s ad was an attempt to counterbalance a sophisticated advertising campaign devised by the military to encourage young people to enlist. I’m mystified by people who proclaim their commitment to freedom of speech, yet are so outraged by individuals who express any view other than one held by the majority. To question war as a solution to the world’s ills has always been unpopular, and sadly gets confused with disrespect for those individuals who choose to join the military. Most young people are easily discouraged from expressing unpopular points of view because they might offend someone, yet that is precisely the risk one must take when standing up for one’s beliefs. This is the American way. Theresa Mack Warwick