Columnist Susan Snyder: Liberty should not be victim of attacks

Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 | 5:28 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column also appears Tuesdays and Fridays in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin

Franklin

THE SONGS received the most attention, but they weren't the worst of it.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Texas-based Clear Channel Communications sent a list of songs to its 1,170 radio stations nationwide and asked operators to consider dropping them from the air.

As the list circulated via e-mail, Clear Channel regional directors apparently added titles they construed as possibly offensive to listeners under the circumstances, according to news wire accounts.

Cries of outrage were heard on Valley airwaves last week as callers to morning drive-time shows scoffed at the suggested ban of about 150 tunes, including Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," and John Lennon's "Imagine."

But the songs simply were the latest in a series of instant attempts to curtail personal choices under the cloak of patriotism.

Television guides were obsolete by the time they arrived on our doorsteps last Sunday as cable and network television stations dropped or replaced all movies that included themes of war, military intrigue or government conspiracy. They didn't even show "Independence Day," a flick with a ridiculous premise. And we win that one.

By Monday I was hearing news reports of people asking for the removal of such films as "Die Hard" from some video rental shelves.

And the webmasters of at least half a dozen Internet political satire pages that criticize President George W. Bush suspended the addition of new items or shut down the pages indefinitely.

"In support of our President and our country, this page has been removed until further notice," says the webmaster for seethelight.com, one of many sites that lists "Bushisms" (instances in which Bush has muddled his words).

It's not because the president has become more eloquent since the attack -- although certainly he has. But these were taken down because some people think criticizing the president is un-American.

Since when?

Our president and his advisers are waging a worldwide war on terrorism to defend, among other things, your right to question, criticize and satirize your government and your president.

Even Sierra Club members, who are among Bush's most vocal detractors, announced they were pulling advertisements urging officials to lower arsenic standards in drinking water and withholding statements criticizing Bush's policies.

The American people are not only afraid to leave home, they're afraid to question their government. This is the "land of the free"? Scary.

President Bush is launching us into a worldwide assault on terrorism that promises to last several years and cost more lives. He is making some tough decisions with far-reaching consequences.

He deserves our support. He needs our criticism. And he's uniting nations across the world to protect our rights to give it.

Our president and members of our military are willing to protect values of freedom that we seem willing to surrender without question.

I understand the wave of emotion and patriotism that has washed over us in the wake of these unspeakable acts. The flag flies daily at my home, and I wear it on my lapel each day. The First Amendment puts food on my table.

But we are at war. We must wrap ourselves in the American flag without smothering the life from our liberty.