freeSpeech: John Lewis

(CBS)  Today, we celebrate and commemorate the life of a man of peace, a man of love, and a man of nonviolence who must be considered one of the founding fathers of the new America.

Because of his dedication to the cause of justice and his fight for human dignity, he wrestled with the soul of this nation and pushed it to reach for its greatest destiny. He injected new meaning into the very veins of our society and gave his life to make our democracy real.

What he did, what he said, and what he sacrificed inspired an entire generation, and its power still rings throughout this nation and the world. We are a different country today; we are a better people today because Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in the power of love over hate, the power of nonviolence over violence, and the power of peace over war.

If Dr. King could speak today, he would tell us to stop this madness and bring our troops home. He would say that war is an obsolete, ineffective tool of our foreign policy. He would say that we must struggle against injustice, we must stand up for what we believe, but if peace is our goal, then peaceful ends can only be secured by peaceful means. He would say we must find a way to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish as fools.

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Often called "one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced," John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls "The Beloved Community" in America. By 1963, he was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. (The others were Whitney Young, A. Phillip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer and Roy Wilkins). At the age of 23, he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.

In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. While serving on the Council, he was an advocate for ethics in government and neighborhood preservation. He was elected to Congress in November 1986 and has served as U.S. Representative of Georgia's Fifth Congressional District since then.

[cbsurv]

It is astounding that one in five Americans and one in two Southerners are trying to label Barack Obama in a way that would justify his assassination.
I am sure that we all would agree that there are some things that are worth fighting for -- our freedom and human rights, the lives of our loved ones, our strongest, highest beliefs. And if someone or some power were trying to steal these things, we might all feel that that would be worth fighting against.
People who hate what progress our country is proudly making know that these things are held sacred. All they have to do is make some nut out there believe the threat to their country and to their family is real, and one of them might feel justified to take action to mitigate it by trying to KILL OUR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!
It is a known fact that before harm is done to someone they are first labeled. The labeling of our president started with "......he's got a chip on his shoulder." " ......he's an Arab" and "he pals around with terrorists", now "........he's a racist", and "he hates white people". Then he is "trying to steal your health insurance and kill your elders in the process along with your job and your future". To show he is truly a threat that needs to justifiably be dealt with, he is "not even an American citizen" so he is the ultimate illegal alien that has stolen the highest American job! This despite the fact that he HAS submitted proof. Now he and his administration are the new Nazis. This is directed at those who would act to "protect" this country from someone who would try to harm it!!!!!!!
Those who propagate this labeling want someone, somewhere in this country, to be so driven by the fear of the above ideas that they feel justified to actually take a step to kill him. We stood by and watched it happen to doctors that performed legal abortions. That we cannot accept, and we cannot stand by and watch it happen again. Good people must stand up against the continued attempts to character-assasinate, and even worse, to encourage real assassination attempts on our President.
I hope you can use your position to shine light on this psychological scheme before it is too late.

[bigal812]

So, John Lewis is trying to carry on the spirit of Dr. King, Hmmm, Let's carry on the spirit of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, why not, President's Day is coming up. If GW or AL were alive today, they would hunt down and kill and capture those who threaten our freedoms and human rights. They would fight for those who are oppressed by tyrant leaders and those who can't fight for themselves. How do I know they would say this, well just like Dr. King somehow speaks from the grave through John Lewis, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln can somehow speak through me. Call it "FREE SPEECH."

[hacksaw2552]

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. " -Martin Luther King, Jr.

HEY! and thats exactly what Mr. John Lewis DID!!
he's not Being "political", he's being "real", , THAT IS carrying on the spirit of Martin Luther King,i APPLAUD and COMMEND Mr. JOHN LEWIS (AND CBS CORPORATE, TO AIR IT), A TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT!!! AND ANY MAN WITH CONVICTION AND RESOLVE AS STRONG AS HIS THAT I SEEN IN HIS EYES LAST NIGHT ON YOUR BROADCAST , DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE, BUT , NEED'S
TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNTIED STATES!!, YEAH I SAID IT!!, (Oh and by the Way im WHITE) THERE IS STILL A THING CALLED FREE SPEECH ISIN'T THERE?? IT IS STILL WE THE PEOPLE ISN'T IT??
and ANYONE who would put a muzzle on there fellow Brethren, for Security in the name of Liberty, Doesn't deserve either.

[dawn3080]

I say dito to what bigal812 wrote. I feel that not only does the personal political opinions of Mr. Lewis have no place in a memorial to Dr. King but also that it is a display of great disrespect to this great man to suppose to speek for him. I am surprised (or maybe not) at CBS.

[bigal812]

I caught your "free speech" segment by John Lewis this evening. I found it quite appawling to hear in a memorial speech about Dr. King
a current political agenda put forth. Lewis said, "If Dr. King could speak today, he would tell us to stop this madness and bring our troops home." How can Mr. Lewis claim to know what Dr. King would say decades after his tragic death. I think Mr. Lewis should speak for Mr. Lewis and not Dr. King. Shame on CBS for promoting such poor journalism and brodcasting this nonsense. Free speech does not include putting words in a deceased man's mouth. I can't wait to hear what CBS will bring up from the grave next to support it's political agenda.