I wish I did not have to be so negative about this, but I keep discovering additional proof that "people are stupid" is a true statement. I need go no further than to write these two words: "Dixie Chicks."

Here is the latest in their stupidity from a short article titled "Dixie Chicks pose nude":

The Dixie Chicks have posed nude for the cover of a weekly showbiz magazine, Entertainment Weekly, in the United States.

The band members, Martie Maguire, Emily Robison and Natalie Maines, said they posed nude in response to the controversy created when they publicly stated that they were "ashamed" President George W. Bush was from their home state of Texas.

The three Grammy-winning country singers are pictured with slogans painted across their bodies, including "Traitors," "Saddam's Angels," "Dixie Sluts," and "Proud Americans."

In a similar Reuters article, Maguire explained, ""We don't want people to think that we are trying to be provocative. It's not about the nakedness. It's about clothes getting in the way of labels." Uh-huh.

If she were truly wise, she would understand that this stunt is only digging a deeper hole for the country group to climb out of. Undoubtedly, they will receive a few "attagirls" from hardened protesters, feminists, and the anti-war crowd, but the majority of Americans understand it for what it is: idiocy. It is making matters worse, not better.

In a recent interview with Tom Brokaw, President Bush shrugged off Maines' disrespectful criticism, saying she had every right to speak her mind. However, a right—in this case, the ability to say whatever one wants—is not the same as wisdom. Just because one can do or say a thing does not mean that doing or saying it is either justified or good. Many people, it seems, no longer understand the distinction between "can" and "should."

Since at least the 1960s, the public has had "rights" thrown in their faces constantly: civil rights, minority rights, women's rights, homosexual rights, reproductive rights, etc., and this has subtly changed its tone. "Right" now has a legalistic, demanding flavor to it that is not present in "freedom" or "liberty," which imply responsibility, sacrifice, and promoting the greater good of society. In other words, rights tend to be exercised while freedoms are embraced, or we might say that rights are active and aggressive while freedoms are passive and quiescent.

Thus, Americans often exercise their rights in protest or opposition to something—usually political in nature—rather than safeguard their freedoms for the long-range good of the nation. Most would rather use their rights to destroy an opponent or put down a proposal than employ Constitutional freedoms to strengthen America as a whole. This is clearly seen in the decades-long crusade of the American Civil Liberties Union to banish God and any mention of Him from public schools, property, and discourse. In so doing, a wonderful freedom has been transformed into a narrow, suffocating, regulated right.

Natalie Maines had a right to say what she said, but she did not have the wisdom to use her freedom for America's benefit. Instead of wisely staying out of matters that she has neither the education nor depth of knowledge to understand, she inserted her foot between her teeth and has foolishly bit it too! Even if she feels strongly about her anti-war beliefs, there were better and far more tasteful and appropriate ways to express them.

The apostle Paul makes a similar point in I Corinthians 6:12: "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful." God-given as well as national laws give us great latitude of activity, speech, thought, and choice within fairly broad boundaries. Yet, sometimes even perfectly lawful activities hurt rather than help a situation.

This is where wisdom comes in. A wise person will determine the best possible course of action—one that will make things better, not worse, for everyone involved. This hints at a good definition of wisdom: doing or saying the best, most helpful thing at the right time and in the right manner. This is no easy goal, but better wise than stupid.