Let Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speak

September 24, 2007

Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will speak to the United Nations and Columbia University this week. The general reaction in America is negative and that’s the way it should be… except Ahmadinejad should be allowed to speak what he wants. Maybe we will all learn something and prove to him we are stronger than his words or his ideas.

Unfortunately too many Americans don’t want him to say anything as if his presence and words will weaken our nation or make converts. They are like fundamentalist religionists who don’t want to hear anything different than their core religious beliefs.  The Constitution protects the right to say what you want, even for people who have ideas different or even antagonistic to ours.

Americans protesting his presence and speeches is protected speech and it is something Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has seen little of in Iran. He needs to see how democracy works.

Giving Ahmadinejad the right to speak weakens his political position. It shows we are a nation willing to listen but not necessarily believe. We will not be contaminated by his words. We can strengthen our democracy by debating what he says and drawing our own conclusions.

To deny free speech to Ahmadinejad is what he does in Iran to his own citizens. Let’s not do that.