I did not see the column to which Hal responded. But I am disturbed that another liberal seems to believe that some whack job's freedom of speech needs to be attacked. And even more so, when I saw that government thugs arrived at his home after midnight, to arrest him for some parole violation. It is the views of Stockman that illustrate the ignorance of so much of the electorate. Obama's failures are everywhere-from his middle east suck up to the thugocracies, to the 8% unemployment. But Farah says that we need to stop complaining. NEW PARAGRAPH: You can do something bout this sordid state of affairs: Vote for Mitt Romney. He can change our country for the better, and if Obama stays in office, you deserve what you are getting.

Stockman seems to have struck a nerve here this morning. I'm laughing out loud..well, no not really.

I so totally agree with these sentiments.  We are a nation of self-serving, entitlement demanding, unforgiving, it's-all-about-me people.  We throw garbage out of our car windows because we don't care about our environment.  We are angry that people who have worked hard all their lives and have nice homes appear better off than us.  We are unapologetically wasteful, not caring what kind of world we leave behind in our wake.  We over analyze, under appreciate, we don't allow our children to fail and we convince them they can do anything they'd like to.... but we fail to explain that you have to work hard to accomplish your goals.  Life requires personal effort, people!  What ever happened to the American work ethic?  Why do young people expect to go immediately into high paying, high profile, big decision jobs without working hard to learn the ropes and earn the respect of management and their co-workers?  It's always someone else's fault.  I applaud your article Farah.  Certainly not everyone falls into these categories, but way too many people do.  I don't know what the answer is or how we can regain the spirit that used to be America.  I doubt I'll live long enough to see it.  How sad is that?

WOW - somebody finally said it!!!!

If Hal is responsible for this uninspired exercise in "Get off my lawn!", then he definitely has something to answer for.

I could not agree with this column more, but I would have left the politics out of it though, gives more credibility. To keep my comment more credible, I will leave the politics out. My husband and I talk about what "suckers" we are - we did a mindful budget when we bought a house, we save So, why doesn't everyone do this? I think the short answer is that it is easier not to and people use the government as their safety net - no one is their own safety net. It is sort of like parenting, you need to let children fail on their own once in a while so they learn and become independent - the government needs to do this too.

Actually, I want my problems fixed yesterday, not tomorrow!  What's the matter with you Farah?  Tomorrow indeed!  NOW!

The objects of blame may have changed, but human societies have always engaged in identifying 'the other' as the scapegoat for all of their ills. Sometimes it meant demonizing a real threat out of proportion, or sometimes it meant creating a false association of an immediately identifiable 'other' with one of those 'real' threats. Consider the murder of Sikh three weeks ago, or the murder of Vincent Chin three decades ago, or the 'Salem Witches' three centuries ago. We have not evolved at all in the past ten thousand years.

You made some good points, but my question is why didn't you make these points under the last administration?  Talk about the Blame Game! Would you have made these points if the other guy was in office?  I doubt it.

Very creative way of working in the race card too.  The President being used as a butler.  (Oh yes, that is how we all think of him! Absurd.)

Exercising one's freedoms "more wisely" feels an awful lot like a slippery slope to me.  Kinda waters down that whole "freedom" thing.

I'm always amazed how easy it is for Democrats to justify and cheer-on POOR PERFORMANCE!  Good way to lose credibility, Stockman.

Farah, you're column where you suggest a "private citizen who posted an anti-Islamic video on YouTube should be held accountable for the reaction around the world" is ridiculous. That video, while trashy and mostly devoid of any historical facts, has nothing to apologize for other than being a bad depiction. The people who have reacted across the world are the ones who should be lambasted. Those people have views that shouldn't be embraced in some sort of new age western view of tolerance. Those people with the violent reactions should be ignored and told, scolded even - like children -, to calm down, grow up and learn how to effectively and peacefully counter viewpoints they find offensive. Unforutnately that will never happen. Because it is those people who lack personal accountability or even the intelligence to get over themselves.

When I'm offended, I don't murder someone, and if I did, it would be my fault, not the fault of the person who offended me.  The Islamic religion should not require special treatment under Freedom of speech/religion laws.  It should be reasonable to critique it.  Religious tolerance is good and all, but murder is not a reasonable respose to a YouTube video.  You'd criticize us for posting a video before you'd criticize a religion that would kill over one?  If only the minds of men could be ruled by modern reasoned law and not a close-eyed devotion to ancient blood-thirsty texts? 

Can anyone help me with the possible reasons for making, translating and posting such a stupid movie? There is a part of me that wishes that instead of the embassy staff, it was the producer and distributors of that video who had to deal with the violent Muslims. The middle east is a tinderbox waiting for a spark. It is stupid to provide that spark, and without any apparent productive purpose, it's hard to defend. As someone said on a talk show this week, the whole world is now a crowded theater waiting for someone to yell "fire".

Amen, sister. You told the truth, and expressed it elegantly. Hope you have an asbestos jacket to withstand the flak that will come your way from … well, blamers.

This all could have been written 10 years ago. It has come up on folks quietly because things were good. Everybody was getting theirs. Not anymore. When times get tough, the crap comes out of people and that is what we are seeing. I know this is a half empty approach but you are way behind the curve. This country is all about laws and not about the golden rule. And when something bad happens we have been taught to think that there is someone to blame. In our society THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ACCIDENT and we are never held responsible. On the contrary, we are encouraged to fault the other guy. This has been the status quo for many years. Maybe you are just seeing it now. We do not take responsibility for what we do. Pure and simple.

I don't often respond to editorials, but Farah, you got it right.

Thanks.

Len Ganz

Needham, MA

Sure he can say it but putting into the public media does not belong to first amendment rights.  A media outlet has its own rules what is permissable.  There is no guarantee to get on the air waves.  The other problem here is that the filmmaker did not stand in the US's public square but took his opinions overseas.  If he had the courage of his convictions it should have bounced off the country of origin.  If we knew he was an ex con and a hater of muslims his opinions would have roundly condemned.  He knew what reaction he would get in muslim countries and in this one.

Sure he can say it but putting into the public media does not belong to first amendment rights.  A media outlet has its own rules what is permissable.  There is no guarantee to get on the air waves.  The other problem here is that the filmmaker did not stand in the US's public square but took his opinions overseas.  If he had the courage of his convictions it should have bounced off the country of origin.  If we knew he was an ex con and a hater of muslims his opinions would have roundly condemned.  He knew what reaction he would get in muslim countries and in this one.