With the attacks on the Boston Marathon participants and spectators just hours past, I have already seen the facetious calls for bans on pressure cookers and backpacks. And in one of my past blogs, I called for a ban on bows and arrows, and on hunting knives, after a young man killed his mother and her boyfriend with his bow and arrow set, then finished the job with his trusty hunting knife. Many common and harmless objects can be used for weapons as well, just ask any correctional officer. And should we ban cell phones? I mean, after all, investigators think it quite likely that someone detonated the two Boston bombs via cell phone. If "banning" of objects is based on the number of deaths caused by those objects, then it strains the brain to believe that someone has not yet called for a ban of all automobiles. The common denominator between all of these "deadly" objects and the people killed is that some person used an object in a way the object was not to be used. Elementary I know, yet true nonetheless. So, how do you ban that common denominator? The answer is...you can't. At least not in a free society. And we have seen how the totalitarian societies kept their citizens "safe," that by throwing them in jail, putting them to work in concentration camps and farms, or just killing them outright. I prefer my liberty even at the risk of being killed by some idiot or fanatic with an exploding pressure cooker. Patrick Henry (if you don't know who this is check your American history book) told the people, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Someone else said that the price of liberty is death, and as we saw Monday, that is indeed the case.
You see, we have always been "at risk" as social workers and educators like to say, in the sense that ever since the founding of this nation, there have been those who have used our very freedom and liberty against us. From criminals shielded by the Miranda Warning to terrorists flying airplanes into skyscrapers, there have always been those who have threatened both our personal and our national liberty. From the very day the Constitution was ratified, men like Alexander Hamilton plotted to somehow bring dictatorship to the new republic. Now over two hundred years later, men are still trying to deprive us of our freedom. I believe, however, that the threat from within is worse than the threat from outsiders. For instance, prior to 9/11 there was no way that a measure like USA PATRIOT would have ever been introduced in Congress. So many of the measures within this law are patently and obviously unconstitutional, but the fear of more terrorist attacks made sheep of our leaders, and of many citizens as well. So, in truth it was not the terrorists who took our freedom, but our very government, lead by George W. Bush, the President so many people "miss" now that an even worse President is in office. And that worse President has done his level best to not only keep the Bush legacy intact, but has even voted to extend and expand its provisions. Bush initiated the Drone War, now Obama has expanded it and even hinted that military drones might soon be patrolling American air space. His attorney general has even said that it would be justifiable to attack Americans on American soil with said drones. I don't know about you, but I am starting to have trouble distinguishing exactly who the terrorists really are.
I would like also to point out the obvious, but here it is anyway. USA PATRIOT, the National Defense Authorization Act, and other similar measures, have brought to bear the full weight of national and military resources in the War On Terror (WOT). Many of us have seen the great and awesome powers these laws grant to the federal government, with the corresponding lack of legislative or judicial checks and balances, and we have cringed as we saw our freedom slipping away. Yet, with all this new power, all these new agencies, the government is no more able to defend us from acts of terrorism that it was on 9/12. But, you and I are much less free than we were a decade ago. You or I, by displeasing someone in power by what we say or do, are subject to being arrested and placed in a jail that is out of sight and off the grid. No judge, state or federal, has the power to stop such arrests and detention. Indeed, the regular justice system would have no knowledge of our whereabouts, so it could not help us. And, we could be detained in that system until the WOT is over. Tell me, when will "Terror" ever be defeated? But until then, you could be held in a special detention center with no access to anyone on the outside. Please don't take my word for this, or just call me paranoid and go on. Instead, read the full text of USA PATRIOT and the National Defense Authorization Act. You will see that I have only scratched the surface in today's post.
I hope the terrorists that committed Monday's atrocities are caught and prosecuted, but as yet authorities are not even sure who the suspects are. On the other hand, the terrorists in the White House and in Washington DC are known to everyone, but nothing is done about it. It would be deeply satisfying and calming to me to know that the Boston terrorists were safely in jail, and it would be just as satisfying, even more so, if the terrorists in Washington were safely housed in the next cell over.
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