Show V Freedom of Expression Questioned B During Salt Lake Community Colleges College's s convocation program Tibetan prayer flags were made and hung but not all of them stayed up By Wendy Vander Veur Staff Writer One persons person's terrorist is another persons person's freedom fighter Are these words offending to you Have they put you on the defense for what you really believe in Have they affected your sense of patriotism They have me Who has the right to pull down another persons person's religion Who has the right t to say you can or cannot fight for your religion Well Vell someone on campus during during during dur dur- ing the week of September 11 th put freedom into their own hands as they tore down another persons persons persons per per- sons prayer flag with the message message message mes mes- sage One persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter Imprinted on it The flags were held on display in the newly remodeled of the Student Center The flags were on display during the week I of September 11 so the community could openly express their thoughts and feelings and emotions of one year later after the events of September 1 11 2001 Could there be a parallel of what happened in the student center to what happened during th the September 11 th tragedies when one freedom fighter put it into his own hands to disrupt the way of life on American soil While speaking to a few members members members mem mem- bers of the student body I was able to see that terrorism is something something something some some- thing not all that new in the US U.S. think of the Oklahoma city bombing Terrorists are in our own nation What is it that makes people speak out What drives them to tobe tobe tobe be different people than they were yesterday Who tells them what is wrong in our lives Well who is God There are as many people as there are ideas about aGod a aGod aGod God or lack of it The prayer flag I submitted said United We Stand Under God I used it as a plea to ask for the student to trun back to the being that created them That was my plea for a better better better bet bet- ter world Yet somewhere out there One persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter and that quotes scares me In the September 10 2002 Globe it said that the expression of prayer flags is more than decorative element It also said It is anaesthetic anaesthetic an anaesthetic aesthetic and deeply spiritual expression of the universal wish for peace harmony and happiness happiness happiness happi happi- ness on this planet earth What was this freedom fighter thinking as he wrote those words Did he want a voice to be heard to be known Was he indeed a freedom fighter or a terrorist terrorist terrorist ter ter- ter- ter living in this Nation of freedom of speech Somewhere along the lines of thinking about this I heard the expression Only in America would such a person personas as a terrorist true isn't it Only in the land of the free could someone have aright a aright aright right to voice his opinion of what America is And someone did just that by hijacking American aircrafts and running them into American buildings all by living the American way of life Did this person that tore down the flag think of the implication implication implication cation of what they were doing Did they simply want to be I interviewed Nancy Fillat of the Student Association here on campus I asked her Do you understand what was written She said It is isan isan isan an example of freedom of speech we dont don't know what it means Whoever tore down the flag was passing judgment rather than respecting this form for open expression There is some some- l thing about the prayer flag that allows you to be accepting of dif dif- dif dif- ference Quotes on the flags ranged from everything to simple words like I love you to quotes from scriptures to graffiti artist to historical quotes from Plato All were one persons expression supporting their fre freedom dom of speech C |