Freedom
Americans are brave.
Born from strong stock that conquered a wilderness, fought off a colonial parent, and weathered a war between brothers, we have a rich history of strength in the face of adversity.
But in the last decade, we have become soft, frightened and spooked by the nebulous threat of terrorism. Of course, our government has stoked that fear, reminding us constantly of the boogey Muslim around every corner.
We must find strength in our history.
By conquering our rational yet over hyped, oversold fear, we might have a chance to return our government to its owners: We the People…
From illegal searches, seizures, surveillance and torture, the assaults on our freedom and traditions are legion. George the 43rd and his cronies have hyped fear to consolidate power in the executive branch—you are either with us or against us, he mumbled. And the monarchy began.
But King George is neither a Republican nor a conservative: he is the CEO in Chief, corralling us with memos from Homeland security. His intent to keep us safe is sincere, but his methods are wrong.
Instead, in the face of terror, he should remind us of our past. We are not lambs needing shelter; we are Americans requiring freedom.
Yes, a Jihadist may kill me; but I rather die free at the hands of a terrorist, then suffer a thousand cuts to our Liberty.
Illinois Shadow
9 comments:
What you're talking about here is the politics of fear. It's no different than McCarthyism. Democrats engage in the politics of fear too. For example, Democrats control the House, Senate, and Governor's mansion in Illinois, which means that they have the power to implement Instant Runoff Voting and completely eliminiate the so-called spoiler effect; yet they refuse to do so, instead opting to scare people into voting Democratic--suggesting that voting for a candidate like Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois Governor, will split the vote. I don't know about you, but I plan to vote for Whitney; and the responsibility for any split votes must be laid squarely at the Democrats' feet, for their failure to fix this problem.
Get a copy of Joseph Loconte's End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler's Gathering Storm. Loconte collected writings both pro and anti-way from 1939, 40, and 41 from leading American Religious writers. Many from the Chicago area which was a hotbod of anti-war and anti-FDR feelings.
Albert Palmer from First Cong Church of Oak Park (my child church) and then head of Chicago Theological Seminary, Ernest Tittle from First United Church in Evanston, and Georgia Harnkess from Garret at Northwestern... they all thought FDR was going to create a Fascist America and lead the US into an Imperialist War against Hitler. That FDR was a fear monger, a capitalist tool, and all the talk about Hitler just propaganda to instill fear among Americans.
It's startling how little the arguments have changed.
We didn't become a Fascist America but a lot of people needlessly died because these midwestener's held such sway over American opinion and the country dithered so long.
Bill:
With all due respect, comparing Jahadists to Nazi's is false.
Nazis invaded and occupied territory.
Like Nazis, Jahadists kill, mame but they can never occuy anything, other than their caves. They are a threat--but nothing compared to Hitler and his land grab.
Please read (or reread) Robert McNamara's "In Retrospect"--unfortunately, I think many of our leaders will be writing similiar Mea Culpa's in the future.
IS
LL
Small cuts are hard to detect--but big wounds occur.
Here are a few nicks:
1. Patriot Act, part One and Two;
2. NSA phone monitoring program;
3. FBI's Carnivore's program;
4. Gitmo.
Just because you or your friends have not been effected, does not mean it has not happened.
LL
I understand you don't have a problem, which is part of the problem. If it does not effect you, then why should you care?
Plus, you the trust the President to do the "right thing".
The problem is once you grant government additional power, it is very hard to get it back to the people.
One question: would you trust your government with these additional powers under a President Hillary Clinton?
Just because you or your friends have not been effected, does not mean it has not happened.
Names please... the only name I case think of that's problematic is Padilla.
We're not sending Muslims to interment camps. They're are no Smith Act trials.... it's pretty mild response compared to past wars.
umm shadow just as one example... have you heard of somalia...i think jihadists have taken over some land
"The Zionists think that they are victims of Hitler, but they act like Hitler and behave worse than Genghis Khan," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday. He was quoted by the Iranian News Agency.
Shadow, I can't get on the same side of street with these lads. Noam Chomsky and his ilk have done too much to muddy the brains of good-hearted people.
Ugh. It hurts me to hear my countrymen use logic like, 'They aren't Americans' so they do not deserve the same basic rights provided to us by our wonderful Constitution.
Feels like Paul of Tarsus resorting to his being a Roman citizen to deserve fair treatment.
But wait, we aren't Rome. At least I hope not.
A concerned American in Nordic Europe.
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