It is a fair point the good Senator makes there indeed. Its lead me in a lsightly different direction of thought however.
It made me think am I product of my up-bringing or would I have always been this way out regardless of what regime I was held to ransom under?
Take for example Nazi Germany during WW2. They developed an expression known as "Speak through a flower". This reffered to any comment you made about Hitler or his ideals/regime. Were you to comment at all on it you should always make sure it was a positive comment less you face the wrath of the SS. And with Hitler youth etc., his eyes and ears were everywhere. So under this system would I have learned to keep my opinions to myself or would I have suffered for the right to say what roles through my mind?
I can only think of one example where I have truly been the victim of my own insistence. When I was younger I joined Her Majesty's Royal Air Force and worked for some years as a Technician. When I first joined I could have been described a slightly "rough diamond" who was not the easiest fit with an authoritarian system. It took me quite some time to get used to taking orders without question.
Whilst in this early stage I was asked during one exercise to stand outside of the room while one of the instructors demonstrated the correct way to dissasemble a piece of equipment. The reasons for him asking me to stand outside were unclear but I can only assume it was becuase I was pretty good at this particular task so he was hoping to catch me out, but it is not really relevant.
Whilst stood outside, a higher ranking instructor happened to walk passed. He stopped just infront of me, turned and asked me why I was stood outside the room. (Probably assuming I had done something wrong.)
I replied by explaining that I was not clear on why I had been asked to stand outside but I was sure that in due course all would be revealed. My flippency and care-free attitude enraged the man who then set about telling me I was a disgrace to the Air Force and that if we were on the battle field he would shudder to think what it would be like to have me at his side. He continued to berrate me for the next 5 minutes or so in a similar fashion while I stood to attention staring passed him as we had been instructed previously.
When he eventually slowed and asked if I had anything to say for myself I replied with:
"I dread the day that I end up on the battlefield with members of the force, who whilst in command, make assumptions rather than assessing the true nature of the field. I worry for a nation that assumes the worst in every person and situation. I believe in myself enough to know I should be here training and I am confident that should the proverbial hit the pan, I will look to those that I both respect and trust to guide me through any given situation."
.....
I spent two weeks on restrictions, was held back and spent the rest of my time in that particular training area as an outcast. I'm guessing the correct response he was looking for was something along the lines of "sorry" or "I will try harder" etc. But though I didn't come off better in any sence of the term I did walk away from it head held high. I gained respect from my CO who was informed of the incident and left that training area slightly stronger than when I entered it.
Now this is in no way comparible to some of the "punishments" others around the world will face for speaking up and nor do I think it is a fantastic example of me standing my ground on my beliefs, ethics and morals but it goes a little way to further show why "we", as a collective, must continue to speak out where we feel necessary. Especially knowing that others around the world can't.
To any others out there who cannot for any reason speak out on certain subjects I hope you can take some sollace in people like us on here, who though rambling and sometimes talking rubbish, do speak out on any issues we feel need spoken out on
Jip