Anne Sweeney of Monmouth Junction
You would think the Obama administration, so often the victim of right wing Internet smears, would think twice before making a decision on the lies of a right wing blogger. But Shirley Sherrod was fired without due diligence or due process.
Apparently it is not only right wing Republicans who are very willing to believe every lie that is passed on by conservative media and every wingnut with access to the Internet. Even the NAACP got on board without checking the facts, as did mainstream media.
If our legitimate institutions are so remiss who will protect ordinary citizens from slander? There will soon come a day when no one will want to enter public service. The risks to one’s livelihood and reputation are just too great. Lies that go out on the Internet — and they are lies, not opinion or free speech — can never be taken back or completely discredited.
Ms. Sherrod isn’t a high level official. This could happen to anyone who is a victim of somebody with a political or personal axe to grind. On the Internet, you can take on a local mayor, union representative, teacher, police officer, business person, clergy member, condo boards, health-care professional etc. And while the most virulent stuff does come from the right, you will find plenty of rabid rants from the left — it’s just that they are so ineffective nobody hears them.
The birthers, swiftboaters and demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck are successful because people want to believe their hate speech. They are in such denial about the state the Bush administration has brought us to, they have to believe the lies. And worse, pass them on.
What does it say about us as a people that we are so quick to accept statements that reinforce our political, racial and religious prejudices and then pass it on to equally biased people. It’s irresponsible at best and immoral at worst. Worst of all, our president does nothing to fight this. He should be protecting us from liars, fools and fanatics, not joining them.
Anne Sweeney
Monmouth Junction
