"Bull Durham" is one of my favorite movies. I love its down-to -earthness, its humanity, its sexuality. It's real. That's more than I can say for the Baseball Hall of Fame,and Dale Petrosky, in particular. They canceled a 15th anniversary celebration of the movie because of anti-war statements by Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. Mr. Petrosky claimed that their statements "ultimately could put our troops in even more danger".

From whom, Mr. Petroskey? The Iraqi regime is no more. I suppose if Iraqi troops were fanatical Sarandon and Robbins fans, armed to the teeth by weapons they had supplied, your comments would make sense. But they don't. Most Iraqis couldn't care less, don't know about them. I doubt if our troops do either. They've got a lot more important things to think about...like staying alive.

In addition to trying to censor opinions he doesn't agree with, Mr. Petrosky and company have also politicized baseball. If that's true, then the next inductees into the hall won't be there solely because of their contributions to the sport but will also be there because they ascribe to hawkish, Republican, intolerant views.

Last time I wore a uniform I thought I was there to protect freedom. What that meant to me was I was risking my life so people could freely express their points of view, whether I agreed with them or not. Somehow, since 9/11 as a people, we seem to have lost sight of that. We are caught in an age of political correctness, perhaps the worst we have ever seen. Under such an atmosphere, our forefathers probably never would have fought for independence. They would have been too afraid. Like the Iraqis. Who is going to come here and save us?