Several years ago I took part in a panel discussion on First Amendment rights and freedom of speech at the library. After a fairly stimulating discussion with a wide range of viewpoints expressed, a member of the audience came up to me and said, "I disagree with everything you just said but I like the way you said it and would defend to the death your right to say it." This man was obviously a conservative who truly understands the meaning and purpose of our Bill of Rights.

I'm confounded by conservative Republicans who go on and on about big government and how intrusive it is and then want the federal government to be involved in the most painful and intimate decisions any of us will ever make including death and dying, abortion and birth control. I'm also at a loss to understand how many of these same individuals can go around and complain about being persecuted as Christians then turn around and ridicule other religions and try to deny their right to practice their religion as they see fit.

Conservatives also like to call people traitors and question their patriotism if they have the audacity to express views that are critical of our leadership. The Dixie Chicks learned first hand the cost of being vocal and opinionated. The lead singer of the group, Natalie Maines publicly criticized President Bush during the run up to the Iraq war in early 2003. Appearing on 60 Minutes, Maines said radio play of their music fell off dramatically after the incident thanks to a boycott led by Clear Channel, owner of 1,4000 radio stations nationwide. In addition Natalie and the two other female members of the group received death threats during their nationwide tour. The death threats were part of a deluge of negative and downright mean e-mails, phone calls and letters to the group. I just can't even begin to understand how a country music singer's negative opinion of our President would infuriate someone enough to threaten to kill that person.

My husband and I attended the Dixie Chicks concert in Greenville, South Carolina in the spring of 2003 and saw a handful of protestors outside as compared to a sell out crowd of fans inside the auditorium. As someone who has had some experience with public backlash for expressing unpopular opinions my heart hurt for what the Chicks endured. But endure they did.

Mindful of the fact that what doesn't kill us does make us stronger the Dixie Chicks are back with a new CD. Commercial radio play of the new single "Not ready to make nice" has been limited because of negative reaction from a vocal minority of country music fans but the new CD and single are among the most downloaded songs on the Internet right now. What that tells me is that true fans of the Dixie Chicks music don't give a damn what they think about politics or maybe now they agree with their assessment of our president. This is yet another example of the limits of corporate broadcasting. The play list is tightly controlled by corporate entities. They won't touch a controversial group even when the object of their derision has the support of less than 35% of the American public.