A cautionary tale
about speaking up

THE nation's unemployment numbers bumped up by at least one last week when a West Virginia graphic designer was given his walking papers.

He wasn't fired for doing sloppy work, pilfering ink cartridges or snoozing at his desk. He got the heave-ho because he embarrassed his boss by shouting questions and challenging President Bush at a political rally, for having behaved, as his employer put it, in an "inappropriate" manner.

Glenn Hiller's made the mistake of not anticipating the consequences of opening his mouth. He should have known that badgering Bush at the president's invitation-only convocation was asking for trouble.

Bush's forums and political rallies are distinguished love-ins where audiences are routinely vetted and thoroughly screened -- some people are even asked to sign affidavits professing faithful adoration for the commander-in-chief.

These are carefully stage-managed events where the right people are positioned behind the podium so that when the cameras focus on the president, a fitting image is projected. Cute as he was, the Bush-Cheney campaign can't abide a chubby boy yawning in the background as in Florida last March, not this close to the election. That would be inappropriate when the candidate has serious issues to discuss. Not the spiraling federal deficit and the slough of war in Iraq, however; those would be inappropriate topics for the warm and fuzzy performances that Bush's handlers like to stage.

Even those who hold tickets get the once over not only for weapons or cream pies, but also for their apparel. A man was turned away from a Bush rally in July because a "Kerry" T-shirt he was wearing was visible through the thin fabric of a button-down number he had on top. So alarmed was one campaign official that she screeched in outrage, "Look at his shirt, look at his shirt!" before the man was hustled away.

The now-jobless Hiller met the same fate. He had the audacity to ask Bush questions about outsourcing jobs and the missing weapons of mass destruction, drawing curses and threats of arrest. The next day, his boss showed him the door after a client who had given Hiller the ticket complained his disrespect had put her public relations company at risk.

I wouldn't be surprised if Hiller finds himself on a list of Americans the FBI has been visiting in the past few months. John Ashcroft's Justice Department has decided that people who have taken part in protests recently -- along with their family members, associates and friends -- should be "interviewed" to prevent disruptive protests, which Republican officials would consider inappropriate at their convention in New York next week.

The FBI insists that the interviews are not designed to intimidate protesters, or to stop them from voicing dissent, but it's hard to imagine that anyone who is interrogated won't be.

Among the questions being asked: Are you or anyone you know planning violent protests? I guess the FBI expects criminals plotting nefarious deeds will 'fess up and say "Aw, gee, you got me."

The tactic follows other inappropriate government actions. In Iowa, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Drake University, seeking records and information about sponsors and those who attended a perfectly legal antiwar forum, but backed off when the citizens balked.

Federal authorities have a duty to ferret out people who want to do harm, but their pursuit of information shoves aside civil rights, trampling the line between legitimate dissent and criminal activity.

Americans have a right to say what they think, just like Glenn Hiller, but also must realize there may now be outcomes not anticipated in a gentler time. Still, people should speak up; it is a duty and a precious blessing. Why else would we wage a distant, deadly war to guarantee this freedom to others?