Everyone Should Be Allowed To Have Their Own Opinion

Dear Editor,
    I am writing to you about the article by Jordan Smith in the Feb. 4 issue “The War on Talking About the Drug War” [News]. Why am I not surprised by the government’s reaction to Border Patrol Agent Bryan Gonzalez’s statement? When did having an opinion become grounds for dismissal? Let me say that I do not do drugs nor do I think they should be legal; however, I think anyone, no matter what the circumstance, should be allowed to have an opinion.
    Did our government forget that this country was founded by free-thinkers that didn’t side with their former government’s policies? I agree with Bryan Gonzalez. I think the war on drugs is a joke, and something different needs to be done. The government comes up with ways to save money by taking money away from education. Why? They are just going to keep throwing money at this so-called “drug war.”
    This war has been going on, officially, since the Reagan administration and has done nothing but cost billions and billions of dollars. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The drug war is just that, insanity. The government should find a new way to spend less money on the drug war and stop taking money away from education. They should change their either you are with us or completely against us way of thinking and give Bryan Gonzalez his job back. After all, he was named employee of the month the month he was fired, and I don’t think there are a lot of young educated men lining up for the job of border patrol agent these days.