The Unpatriotic Act
Benjamin Franklin once said “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety”.
Over the last decade, we as Americans have had many restrictions put on our civil liberties that make up the backbone of what the United States is. As a young man in my late teens and early twenties, it was very easy to follow the crowd and seek revenge after 9/11. I even enlisted in the Army National Guard as a result. However, as I sit here with more knowledge and more experience, I look back on certain actions that were done by the United States government after 9/11 and realize how wrong they were.
On May 26, 2011, President Barrack Obama signed an extension to certain sections of the Patriot Act, which had been originally signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I do not agree with extending any part of this bill.
Before I go any further, lets take a look at some of the actions that have been taken by the United States government since the creation of the Patriot Act:
When the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq turned out to be untrue, at the expense of American lives and an astronomical amount of money, I expected Americans to display some form of opposition…we didn’t.
When the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib came out, it displayed how unprofessional those in charge have conducted themselves. It was a huge embarrassment to the United States and needed many Americans to voice their opposition…we didn’t.
Then it was revealed that the Executive Branch had authorized massive illegal domestic surveillance of American citizens…you and me. I then felt that finally we would have had enough…evidently we haven’t.
In fact, if the people of this country did voice their opinion, the message is that we are okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizure, illegal wiretapping, prison without a fair trial or any trial for that matter, war under fall pretenses. The lack of opposition displays the message that we are not offended by any of this and will allow the government to treat us as they see fit.
There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, with all the distractions in mainstream media, there is no clear indication that students seem to notice. Aside from that, even if they did want to hold a demonstration or protest the old fashioned way at a political event or presidential appearance, the right to that has been lost as well. The Secret Service can now declare “Free Speech Zones” to contain and control protests.
Stop for a second and try to take this all in. At a presidential appearance, if a person is wearing have on a supportive t-shirt or displaying a supportive sign, they can stay. If a person is not and/or are carrying something that falls under the guidelines of a protest, they can be removed. This is what is now going on in the United States of America
This is not what the United States is supposed to stand for. In fact, what I am most sick and tired of is that when someone speaks out and disagrees with how the government is conducting itself, they are labeled un-American. We saw this during McCarthyism and the Communist witch-hunts. We have seen people slandered when they opposed the events of the last decade. Speech in this country is free and it is wrong when government uses its power to suppress the Constitutional rights of its citizens.
In 1952, Adlai Stevenson gave a speech and a certain line sticks out that can still be applied today. In his speech he said, “The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-Communism”. Today, that patriotic cloak is anti-terrorism.
He also said, “It is far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them”. The United States sends young men and women around the world to bring democratic principles to foreign peoples, yet we are still struggling with living up to them at home.
I understand that we all live in a certain level of fear, but the Bill of Rights is something we all must live up to. It is a major part of what is supposed to define the United States.
Over the last decade, we as Americans have had many restrictions put on our civil liberties that make up the backbone of what the United States is. As a young man in my late teens and early twenties, it was very easy to follow the crowd and seek revenge after 9/11. I even enlisted in the Army National Guard as a result. However, as I sit here with more knowledge and more experience, I look back on certain actions that were done by the United States government after 9/11 and realize how wrong they were.
On May 26, 2011, President Barrack Obama signed an extension to certain sections of the Patriot Act, which had been originally signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I do not agree with extending any part of this bill.
Before I go any further, lets take a look at some of the actions that have been taken by the United States government since the creation of the Patriot Act:
When the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq turned out to be untrue, at the expense of American lives and an astronomical amount of money, I expected Americans to display some form of opposition…we didn’t.
When the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib came out, it displayed how unprofessional those in charge have conducted themselves. It was a huge embarrassment to the United States and needed many Americans to voice their opposition…we didn’t.
Then it was revealed that the Executive Branch had authorized massive illegal domestic surveillance of American citizens…you and me. I then felt that finally we would have had enough…evidently we haven’t.
In fact, if the people of this country did voice their opinion, the message is that we are okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizure, illegal wiretapping, prison without a fair trial or any trial for that matter, war under fall pretenses. The lack of opposition displays the message that we are not offended by any of this and will allow the government to treat us as they see fit.
There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, with all the distractions in mainstream media, there is no clear indication that students seem to notice. Aside from that, even if they did want to hold a demonstration or protest the old fashioned way at a political event or presidential appearance, the right to that has been lost as well. The Secret Service can now declare “Free Speech Zones” to contain and control protests.
Stop for a second and try to take this all in. At a presidential appearance, if a person is wearing have on a supportive t-shirt or displaying a supportive sign, they can stay. If a person is not and/or are carrying something that falls under the guidelines of a protest, they can be removed. This is what is now going on in the United States of America
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA???
This is not what the United States is supposed to stand for. In fact, what I am most sick and tired of is that when someone speaks out and disagrees with how the government is conducting itself, they are labeled un-American. We saw this during McCarthyism and the Communist witch-hunts. We have seen people slandered when they opposed the events of the last decade. Speech in this country is free and it is wrong when government uses its power to suppress the Constitutional rights of its citizens.
In 1952, Adlai Stevenson gave a speech and a certain line sticks out that can still be applied today. In his speech he said, “The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-Communism”. Today, that patriotic cloak is anti-terrorism.
He also said, “It is far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them”. The United States sends young men and women around the world to bring democratic principles to foreign peoples, yet we are still struggling with living up to them at home.
I understand that we all live in a certain level of fear, but the Bill of Rights is something we all must live up to. It is a major part of what is supposed to define the United States.
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