Much has been said about TikTok’s publication and subsequent removal of Osama bin Laden’s so-called Letter to America. The media made it seem like forbidden fruit, something to be shunned by America. All of the censorship and warnings only worked to peak my curiosity.
C’mon man…it’s a letter written by a terrorist who tried to destroy America.
It was fascinating to read and hear the outcry for censorship of the 2004 document, even from Republicans, so I decided to hunt down the letter, read it, and draw my own conclusions about its content. After all, don’t we still live under the rights and privileges granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Of course, given the flurry of condemnation about the letter, I was cautious. One can’t be too cautious in today’s hostile political environment. What would people think of me if I admitted reading Osama’s letter? Would iVoteAmerica and iVoteArizona come under fire? Would we lose followers? And what of my own X channel, Donald Teel.
Confession. I suddenly found myself gripped with apprehension, wrestling with the idea of actually compromising my First Amendment rights. The voice inside me screamed, “NEVER!”
I hunted down Osama bin Laden’s so-called Letter to America and read it several times, mentally highlighting some of its concepts. I realized the letter was nothing more than garden variety rants of a mass murderer who killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City on a Tuesday morning…911.
None of Osama’s words shocked me…I have heard it all before. I, like you, lived through the reign of terror.
What did shock me was the shallow content, the misdirected logic, its revisionism, and the notion that anyone in their right mind would take the letter seriously. The letter is just the old, raw, primal scream of Al-Qaeda. It could have just as easily been written by bin Laden’s Egyptian sidekick, Ayman al-Zawahiri, or a thousand other terrorist.
Americans should read Osama bin Laden’s Letter to America, if for no other reason than to recall the tragedy America endured under his leadership of Al-Qaeda. We should never surrender censorship or forfeit our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and the press. These are the right to read, to print, to know, to speak, to opine. We don’t give any of that up, terrorist or saint!
I formatted the letter without modifying Osama’s words or meaning. Now you can have it, read it, remember and in so doing become stronger as an American.
Here’s Osama bin Laden’s so-called Letter to America.
If you're happy with BIG Government, then ignore this!
Good Choice...Let's Get Rid of Big Government