Shhh…They’re Still Listening

This post was initially intended to be a one and done deal, but as usual P Corcs and Late Night have brought up some interesting talking points, and I’d say an issue like this is worthy of a miniseries. So here goes.

Clearly we're looking at this from opposite ends of the spectrum. When it comes to political happenings, I’m cynical and paranoid (or in the words of Late Night, a born pessimist), you all are trusting and hopeful. I haven’t decided yet which is more dangerous. On the one hand, I’m far more likely to end up as A) a fugitive a la Enemy of the State or B) in a padded room a la 12 Monkeys. On the other hand, unquestioning acquiescence to governmental action that we know to be unjust, whatever their reasoning, further blinds us to what injustice is. MLK Jr. said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It was passive acceptance of minor injustice after minor injustice which permitted the Holocaust. (Obviously I’m not comparing anyone to Nazi sympathizers. It was an extreme example to make a point.)

Do I really believe that the Protect America Act is unjust? The government is trying to protect us, right? (More on this tomorrow.) Maybe. For now. It’s important for the government to monitor terrorist activity in the US. That's their job. However, they could've done so with the provisions I laid out in yesterday’s post. As is, they can listen to every word I say, read every word I write, and not need a reason to do so. It's governmental overreach at its worst.

With the absolute impunity they now enjoy, how long till they use their power to gather information about political opponents or to preemptively break up protests? How long till they use this information to silence vocal critics, to intimidate the free press, to punish dissenters? I absolutely hate the term slippery slope, but that’s exactly what this is.

My point is that we cannot assume our politicians are any better than the iron-fisted dictators throughout history; they are merely bound by a different set of circumstances. The FISA was created because Richard Nixon, our former president, was spying on political opponents. Karl Rove has made a career of using questionable tactics. The whole Scooter Libby fiasco started because the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame was leaked to the press to discredit her husband, Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who accused the government of lying about Iraq’s supposed attempts to purchase yellowcake uranium. And check out this link for a fascinating story about our Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1622832,00.html.

These are the men and women that stole America from the Native Americans. That experimented on African Americans in Tuskegee http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762136.html. That secretly trained and armed Latin militants who would go on to slaughter millions in violent coups. These are not men and women I expect to act with integrity. Nor do I expect them to respect the spirit of a law when they have it in writing that they can do whatever the hell they want. I trust my family and my friends. I don’t trust a man wearing a red tie and a blue suit because he appears on TV and tells me that he's trying to protect me. For these men the constitution is a nuisance, and I don’t believe for a second they wouldn’t burn the thing if given the opportunity (which they have now been granted).

No, I don’t have anything to hide. Hopefully, I never will. But I will continue to voice my opinion when I see politicians overstepping their bounds, an action which, with the direction this country is headed, will one day be outlawed. I don’t want the feds busting down my door in 20 years because I had a conversation with an old buddy about the injustice of a tyrannical president making it a felony to speak the name of God on government property. Neither do you.

In conclusion, I agree with Werd. Go Celtics!

Thanks for reading.