Ellynne wrote:

And then there's all that "Give me liberty or give me death" stuff that I couldn't help absorbing as a kid (hey, it was in the air). The feeling that those things need to be said.

Indeed. I don't think anyone was trying to seriously suggest that you don't have the right to express your opinion. However, firmly held beliefs of whatever nature can upset people whose own firmly held beliefs are called into question -- and upset people don't make the best discussants.

Tavia