Thoughts on the Brandon Raub incident

":First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me"
-Martin Niemoller

"Give me libery or give me death!"
-Patrick Henry

I need to put it out there, I'm not feeling too good about myself right now.  For the period of a week, an American citizen was detained for nothing more than posting some inflammatory remarks on a certain social media site.  My current low self esteem stems from the fact that I did not speak up or come to his aide at all.

As background, a former Marine named Brandon Raub was taken into custody by police at his home August 16th.  He was not technically arrested, but i think given that he was removed by force in handcuffs we can just call it an arrest.  He spent the next 7 days in government custody before his eventual release.  The comments that led to this included comments about 9/11 being an inside job, the government wanting to put microchips in us, and a general call to arms.

Let me make a point entirely clear:  I do not agree with Brandon Raub on a lot of things.  I do not think 9/11 was an inside job.  I do not think the government is trying to implant microchips in us all (not yet, anyway.)  And if he decides to lead the revolution I will not be following him.

Frankly, I think he's a bit of a nut.  But you know what?  A few nuts in the mix is no bad thing.  And in this country, if we do not have the right to speak our beliefs, no matter how fringe they may be, what do we have?  I have plenty of ideas that many people may consider equally nutty, when will i be taken from my home?

I understand that there are desires to be more careful with those who are potentially dangerous in the wake of recent events.  But we cannot, must not let that lead us into depriving anyone of liberty based on ideas we find disagreeable.  To quote Benjamin Franklin, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

So to Brandon, should he chance to come across this, I apologize.  I should have been there to raise my voice in support.

And to the rest of us, we must more carefully guard the shared freedom of speech we have.  We must not get complacent.  On some issues, there can be no compromise.