On The Right To Be Critical

That's not "right" as in right versus left, or right versus wrong. I'm talking about the rights of someone to be critical. I'm talking about this bogus notion that "only someone who's served in Vietnam" is allowed to be critical of someone else's service in that same war.

Does this mean that only a doctor who's schizophrenic is qualified to diagnose and treat a mental patient? After all, who better to know what a patient is going through than someone who's experienced the same medical condition?

Does this mean that only actors and directors can be critical about their films because only they were involved in the process of making the film? After all, what do you know about the creative process in the visual arts?

Obviously, this is all BS. You and I have just as much a right to be critical of someone else, and vice versa. We can make valid claims, ask tough questions, release documents, uncover facts, and rebuff false accusations. We don't have to be a member of an exclusive club in order to be qualified to question someone who's running for leader of the free world.