Tonight I am very unproud to be an American. I watched part of the Primetime Thursday report on all that has happened to the Dixie Chicks lately and it makes me sick. Literally sick. How can I have pride in a country that is founded on the principles of freedom when the use of that freedom for nothing more than a statement of "I do not like the President's policies" leads to people destroying your image with bulldozers and making death threats over the radio? Why have that freedom? Why?

What is the point in fighting for freedoms that one is made afraid to exercise? What is the point when the freedoms that you're wanting to exercise are as rather insignificant as disagreeing with someone?

Conservatives love to complain and complain and complain about how "political correctness" is "destroying" America. That pussy-footing you're way through life trying to not offend anyone is so disruptive to the American way. But isn't what is being done to the Dixie Chicks, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, and the millions, millions, of non-celebrity faceless dissenters by conservatives so much worse than worrying about offending? Political correctness is there to protect the feelings of other people...freedom of speech and expression is there to protect the integrity and, ultimately, that very freedom itself of our nation. But it is being chipped away by those that would try to shut down those that dare dissent. How sickening. How very disgusting. It makes me very worried...very ashamed.

I seriously am losing faith in America...not the idea, never will I lose faith in the idea...but rather the institutions that make it up. And some of the people, many of the people. People that dare say "rah rah rah!" to the cause of patriotism without truly understanding what it is they're fighting for. Not even knowing what freedom is. Not accepting what it is that America is truly about.