As a matter of course, being an administrator of several websites, I comb through undelivered mail for anything that would appear to be fraudulent or otherwise require reporting, and then filter the rest rhrough my bayesian trainers to aid in making my personal spam filter more accurate, then chuck it all. This past week, I was doing so when I ran across one of those emails that gets forwarded from friend to friend to friend. Much cleaned up, it appears thus:

Two things Navy SEALS are always taught: 
 1. Keep your priorities in order 
 2. Know when to act without hesitation 

A college professor, avowed atheist and active in the ACLU, was teaching his 
class.  He shocked several of his students when he flatly stated that once and 
for all he was going to prove there was no God.  Addressing the ceiling, he 
shouted, "GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform.  
I'll give you exactly 15 minutes!" 

The lecture room fell silent.  You could hear a pin drop. 

Ten minutes went by, "I'm  waiting God. If you're real, knock me off this 
platform!" 
  
Again after 5 minutes, the professor taunted God saying,  "Here I am, God!  
I'm still waiting!" 
  
His count down got down to the last minute when a former Navy SEAL, just 
released from the Navy after serving in Iraq and taking classes on his GI Bill 
benefits, walked up to the Professor.  The SEAL hit him full force in the face, 
and sent the Professor tumbling from his lofty platform. 
  
The Professor was out cold!  The students were stunned and shocked, beginning 
to babble in confusion.  The SEAL nonchalantly took his seat in the front row 
and sat silent.  The class looked at him and fell silent...waiting.  
Eventually, the professor came to and was noticeably shaken, staring at the 
SEAL in the front row.  When the professor had regained his senses and could 
speak he asked: "What the hell is the matter with you?!  Why did you do that?!"

The former special forces soldier stared the professor in the eyes and said, 
"God was really busy protecting America's soldiers, who are right now 
protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole!  So he sent 
me." 

Now obviously, this probably never happened. The SEAL would have been arrested for assault and every news media in the country would have latched on it for one reason or another. Conservative leaning outlets would have hailed it as the insensitivity of liberals, the ACLU, and the college community in general. Liberals would have decried the torments of the ongoing war in Iraq and the psychological damaage it did to this poor soldier. Still, the letter triggered a strain of thought in my mind, contemplative of whether there really ARE people out there brazen enough to do such things (both the professor and the SEAL).

Later that evening, i sent to one of the many firearms-related websites that I frequent, and observed one more idiot spouting off on a forum about Law Enforcement use of firearms about how a citizen of an oppressive government has the right to use lethal force to defend himself or to bring about change. My blood boiled over.

The monumental ignorance and stupidity of some members of society is, at times, astounding. The very fact that this statement was able to be posted onto the internet via an unrestricted ISP connection without the poster being arrested or the statement being censored is immediate disproof of the content of the statement. An oppressive government is China where civil disobediance of a police officer or political official can be a capital crime. Where no religion is allowed or tolerated to exist. Where no statement can be made about the deficits of the government or the rights of the governed. An oppressive government is Iran where you can be killed for not being Muslim, where your limbs may be lost and your body maimed according to the judgements of muslim law by a muslim imam. An oppressive government is North Korea where you can be killed for any crime whatsoever, if a political official deems it neccessary.

It is true, America is not perfect. I, too disagree with many laws put in place at the federal and local levels. Some laws are stupid, such as being unable to carry a firearm in a National Park even if you have been granted a Concealed Carry permit by the state the park resides in. Some laws are ridiculously complicated and favor the wealthy, like the United States Tax Code. Some laws are just down-right silly, like the resolution in congress to rename french fries to freedom fries because the French were protecting thier financial interests to continue selling armaments and equipment to Saddam. Still, the very fact that I can make public these disagreeents, that I can share openly my feelings about the laws and government of the United States is a testament to the freedom and flexibility that our government provides.

Is America perfect? Hell no. Is America "Best"? How should I know? I am not going to mount my high horse and say that I am better than everyone else or that my country is better than all others. I will say that I am an American and proud to be one. This country provides freedoms, both political and economic, that are hard to match anywhere else in the world, while still providing a level of protection and services to the governed. My point? Stupid people are everywhere and every once in a while I get just a little too much from the far-left or far-right, and need to blow some steam. These people may be a vital part of society to bring into contrast the more moderate, however if society ever gets to a point that either the radical left or radical right are accepted and "normalized", our country is in for trouble.