The story of three American college students recently detained in Egypt was of particular interest to me. One of the students, Derrik Sweeney, is from my hometown. I don't really know Derrik, but he went to high school with my son. Derrik played baseball growing up, but never on any of the team's I coached. I have met his mother on a couple of occasions, but I doubt that she really knows who I am.
As a parent, I was relieved when Derrik was released by Egyptian authorities and allowed to return home. I read many accounts, in the paper and online, about his experiences.
I was saddened, though, by the comments made by other readers on the various news sites. It didn’t matter if I was looking at the websites for Fox News or MSNBC. The majority of comments were along the lines of: “Why do idiots always travel in threes?” and “These young anarchists should have been punished.” Other commentators assumed these college students were radical socialists “like the Occupy Wall Street crowd.”
When did we reach the point that we want Americans punished in foreign prisons because we “know” they must have been doing something wrong? Just because we can comment immediately online, and make up facts to fit our pre-conceived agendas, does not make it right to do so.
Unfortunately, this is the level of most political discourse in our country nowadays. We argue for the sake of arguing, totally convinced not only in our own righteousness but also in the absolute evil intentions of the opposing side. People around the world are struggling for democracy, and with our rude and impulsive commentary, we give free speech a bad name.
On a personal level, though, as the father of a 19-year-old, I can only imagine what it feels like for Joy and Mike Sweeney to be able to hug and hold their son once again.
