On the eve of September 11th I'd like to take a minute to reflect, not on the firemen, the businessmen and those that died, though I'll certainly take a moment to remember them but on the freedoms that may very well be on life support.
I've said this before. I'm sorry for the redundancy. If any of my readers out there are interested in making a film... well we need a remake of 1984. Or something.
Freedoms guarenteed by the Bill of Rights:
Religion
Speech
Press
Assembly
Petition
To bear arms
To not be forced to quarter soldiers
No unreasonable search and seizure
No being held without being accused
No double jeopardy
Cannot be compelled to testify against oneself
No seizure of private property without just compensation
The right to a speedy, public, and fair trial
The right to approach the accuser
The right to an attorney
The right to a trial by jury
No cruel and unusual punishment
Seventeen basic rights, nine of which have in some way been tested as a result of the 9-11 attacks and the "war on terror" that followed. While some are screaming that these freedoms must be protected foremost others are calling for increased security, perfectly willing to surrender basic freedoms in the name of additional safety.
We harken back to the days of the Alien and Sedition Acts; the suspension of habeus corpus during the Civil War; the Espionage and Sedition Acts; the days of Japanese detention centers; the Red Scare; the McCarthy Era. And I am forced to ask, did we ever really have those freedoms - or do we have them when it is convienent.
I for one would prefer history not to repeat itself.
I've also heard a lot about "they" lately. "They" might be anyone really: Arabs, Muslims, Hispanics, Gen Xers, and New Orleans transplants. I've been told Hispanics don't work, Muslims hate us, Arabs want to kill us, Gen Xers can't read, and Katrina kids are all hoodlems. I'm not going to end stereotypes tonight but I'd like to acknowledge that there are many exceptions to the "rules" so many that I can't see that there are rules.
At any rate stop pretending we're perfect.
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1 comment:
The saddest part is, some of the people who fly the American flag most fervently would suggest that by questioning whether or not our original freedoms have been preserved by the current (and past) government, you are anti-American. The Dixie Chicks would agree with me. Complacency and having easily defined enemies (Arabs are pretty conveniently darker in complection, so we only have to look skin deep to judge a person's character and demeanor) are the bigger threat to our guaranteed freedoms than the terrorists will ever be. They can physically attack us, but more danger comes from kneejerk, reactive security measures that scale back out freedoms that Americans get used to. And the irony of it all is, the US is fighting these wars under the banner of 'preserving freedom.' We're not perfect (nor will we ever be), but I believe it's imperative to try to parade our freedoms in substance, not just point to an old document and say, "That's great," and then enumerate reasons why they just won't work anymore in this 'post-9/11 world.'
-Sam
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