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It is quite true that civil rights are being chipped away by these acts, one by one. And quite disturbing, at that. But, to add perspective, we also must consider history -- In the U.S., Lincoln completely suspended the constitution for the Civil War. More recently, all U.S. resident Japanese were detained during World War II -- a flagrant violation of civil liberties. During the Hoover administration of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover had a penchant for gathering files on U.S. citizens, in the event that they exhibit "Communist" tendancies, et al.
Essentially, in the U.S., civil rights have not been historically consistent. There are high tides and low tides. Times of war almost always constitute an ebb.
This doesn't mean it ought to be ignored. It's organizations like the ACLU that provide the force behind the 'flow' portion of this process -- but it is a process, not etched in granite.
It needs to be observed that this isn't unusual, in the vaster span of things. Nonetheless, it needs to be ensured that it does not become ubiquitous.
The entire purpose of government is violence. It's a very large bully whose purpose is to fend off smaller bullies, so the constituents of the nation can involve themselves with activites beyond self-preservation. Unfortunately, to an extent, this is the job of any politician -- do protect their position with violence, if necessary, and to quell violence before it becomes in every day issue.
In this case, the U.S. government has failed to prevent violence in it's territory. Those in the U.S. government responsible for these sorts of things are finding themselves in an intense campaign to a) make up for their basic failure, and b) attempt to protect their positions while they do so.
Hence the shutdown of open media, etc.
None of these are pretty things, but they are the very things government is intended to do.
The trick is maintaining the balance -- and this is delicate, indeed. This is why civil disobedience and protests are integral to healthy society -- they keep people thinking, and force government to work towards responsiveness. If a goverment goes ten years without serious civilian disapproval, it not only gets lazy, but also begins to clamp down on civil liberties and various programs in order to 'streamline'. It's a natural tendancy of power centers to do so -- to continually draw power.
I guess what I'm saying is, it's good to be aware of it, and to keep your eye on it. And it's fine to protest it. However, it's not as if this is unprecedented, or unexpected. The power centers in U.S. government are vested with the right to do this sort of thing. The founding fathers were perhaps mistaken in their choice of balance on this one -- the right to bear arms. However, it is the citizen's job to act as a watchdog for abuse of these expanded powers, and to make certain they do not become the norm.
To speak more subjectively: I can cite abuses for each and every instance in which these powers can be invoked, and yet I am hard-pressed to cite instances in which doing so has resulted in a significant increase in overall safety.
It should also be pointed out that, in certain circumstances, instances like this won't be obvious -- because "what works and what doesn't" is obviously integral to military strategy -- particularly the secrecy of the knowledge thereof.
I don't honestly know -- but my gut instinct always rails against these sorts of things. However, not much can be done about this right now. The only stance that can be adopted is apparently caution.
I am therefore cautious when considering the implications of this.
Eyes open.
[ 19-11-2001: Message edited by: Frances' Tired Tear Ducts ] |
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(sheesh, Cherry's Barbe-lurvin thread sure is strong stuff).
ne day all things that are now. will be but sand. But this is history now we areentering a very scary time and have been for some time but wuht scares me the most is the amount of people how don't mind all the thing's we care about are slowly being takin away and i am alarmed i gess that makes me a alarmist.