"It is easier to have freedom of thought in a concentration camp than in America today."

So said Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In 1970 he won the Nobel Prize for literature and is the author of a number of books that are insightful, both on the nature of the Russian political system and of the human psyche when placed in situations of extreme hardship. In 1974 he fled Russian persecution for the land of the free and the home of the brave. To his astonishment he discovered a land where freedom of thought was no greater than in Russia. There was a difference only in the nature of the restrictions on his freedom of thought not on the extent. Of course the natural response is to say “like it or leave it”, that is, if he thinks it is so crook then leave (which is actually what he did, returning to his native Russia after the fall of communism.) Our friends, however, are not the ones that tell us what we want to hear, but those who tell us what we need to hear.

He made this statement many years ago. It is interesting to consider whether it is more or less appropriate today. Are we more or less able to question the behaviour of our country’s respective leaders without being labelled UnAmerican/UnAustralian. Solzhenitsyn wrote in “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”

"The fellows at the top thought about everything for him, and it was kind of easier like that."

It is time for you to consider how much you are allowing the government of your country to think for you. You have the freedom to think for yourself, to question what is being done on your behalf. You have the right to stand up and say what you think without fear of persecution or of retribution, or do you? Take a look at how vocal critics of recent actions of the government have been portrayed. I will leave you with a quote from George W Bush.

If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists.