Our president may have a musical ear, but when it comes to sensible reasoning, one could probably extract more logic from the underside of a toaster. On October 26th, 2001, the 44th president of the United States smiled at the bill that lay in front of him. He took a pen out of the finely crafted English desk. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. This would solve worldwide terrorism for good! Just as his pen finished the last "h" on the last line, a bolt of lighting, a clap of thunder, and somewhere in Transilvania, two horses screeched into a dark and foggy night. The paper in front jolly man was no longer just a little harmless bill. It had transformed into a powerful monster. The Patriot Act was born.
All this nonsense getting kind of annoying. How many terrorists have been captured and brought to justice? Wait just a second! Did I say justice? Bush’s Military Order on November 13th, 2001 violated the very principals of Habeas Corpus. We can detain a suspected terrorist without a formal charge and hold them against their will until the day they die. Does that sound like the practices of a fair government? Well it must to someone because nothing has been accomplished 7 years after the fact. The Patriot Act continues to grow stronger as the years pass. Wiretapping honest civilians is just the beginning of it. In 20 years, perhaps we’ll all be walking around in GPS tracking chips implanted into our arms. At what point do we say enough is enough? When do we realize that giving up some rights for the safety of one’s nation is a good thing only in moderation. The fourth amendment has been violated. What amendment will be next. If they go at the first we’ll be heading toward an Orwellian future. Our government wanted the act to be an effective driving force behind national security. National security is slowly becoming national paranoia. During the Cold War, wiretapping liberals was a common occurrence. If a person says that they don’t support the actions of the government, they were labeled as communist supporters. The same thing may be occurring today only now it would be terrorist supporters instead.
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I have to ask: Have you ever read the actual bill?
I have. And the common misconceptions of it, and the way people believe this misconception, make me laugh until tears run from my eyes. Please tell me if you would like a formal rebuttal. I'll give you a synopsis:
The Patriot Act only authorizes wiretappings without warrant on calls coming outside the country to suspected terrorists. Domestic calls are not touched without warrant, as it would be a violation of Supreme Court precedence and the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.
Have you looked at the way the US defines "terrorists"?
I think I'll post about this soon. :)
You made a very good point about rights being violated. The GPS implanted chip is an even scarier thought, especially since the US has already enacted a bill that is requiring all citizens to get a national ID card in oder to travel, drive, go into government buildings or go into top secuirty buildings.
You say it is right to give up some freedoms for national security. I disagree. I will leave you with a quote from one of out forefathers, Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
~Jessica Mondillo
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/jmondillo
Your last quote is from a man living in another time, where national security consisted of a watchman on the border, scanning the distance for an enemy army or navy.
Today's time, a person can sneak into the country and deliver a weapon payload that would destroy an entire city. A more sophisticated enemy requires a more sophisticated watchman. Liberty and security DO need to be balanced, despite what the esteemed Franklin said. I say: Franklin was wrong. Why is that taboo to say? He was wrong. Those two things do need to be balanced.
i agree with you entirely. I do not like our government, but it is the best government in the world. Although the amount of money spent on the military leaves our country in debt, I feel that it is some what necessary. I think America is to blame for a lot of the hate it receives, in turn America should have to financially pay for the protection. If there was only freedoms, it would be anarchy. A society cannot function with out a give and take relationship. Most of the "rights being taken away" do not affect common civilians unless you are planning on bombing a federal building and are careless enough to make it known.
As much as my fiance would hate for me to say this, I mostly agree with the patriot act.
The best in the world? Most of Europe has better...
Oh, and average citizens CAN be arrested and sent to Guantunamo and all that shit. Peace activists have been detained, people wearing the wrong t-shirt have been arrested, people have been detained for their political beliefs and religious beliefs, etc, etc. Most people in Guantunamo for instance are innocent. x.x
Wow. I actually never thought of it as that way. I never thought of the government coming to get me because I didn't agree with anything that had to do with the war! Its so scary, but it's so true. The government has so much more power then the PEOPLE actually realize. This coming year we have a chance to put someone in power that will hopefully save our country/government from this black hole we are literally going down!
You people are such koolaid drinkers. "It's so scary, wah wah wah wah wah"
I say, having a healthy knowledge that government power can be used for stripping liberty is good. But this...paranoia, this illogical fear of government swallowing your lives full! It's sick.
You people are such koolaid drinkers. "It's so scary, wah wah wah wah wah"
I say, having a healthy knowledge that government power can be used for stripping liberty is good. But this...paranoia, this illogical fear of government swallowing your lives full! It's sick.