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Originally posted by marichiko
The government has learned by the mistakes it made in giving journalists free access to film and photograph the Vietnam War. Every night for three years the American public was subjected to nightly news casts which showed in graphic detail the suffering the war inflicted on both sides. Especially disturbing was the footage of our troops, caught in fire fights, wounded, dead, being evacuated out by helicopter. All this was shown at the dinner hour, right when everyone got home from work or school. My Dad did two tours in Vietnam. In those times it took 10 days for a letter from a soldier in Vietnam to reach the US. I can remember sitting glued to the TV, terrified that tonight it would be my Dad's turn to be filmed as one of the wounded or dead soldiers. The nightly news was a major factor in turning public opinion against the war. Bush will not make the same mistake of allowing us to see what our troops in the Gulf are enduring.

The goverment could use the same broken logic to prevent people from publicly speaking against the war at all, which would violate our right to free speech. They're trampling our Constitutional rights regardless of what positive side-effects may exist alongside the numerous negative ones. Every once in a while the American goverment does something alarmingly Orwellian, and this is one such thing. Too many such things have occurred under the reign of George W. Bush, and whenever he vacates the White House, it won't be soon enough.