Thursday, December 15, 2011
Seriously, when did blatantly attempting to override constitutional rights become a political fad?
I have just learned that the National Defense Authorization Act 2012 has passed in both houses of Congress and will soon be ratified by President Obama as law. For any who are not aware, the passing of this bill will officially make the entire world, including US soil, the battleground for the war on terror allowing anyone perceived as a threat to the US to be arrested and detained indefinitely without trial. I cannot say how much this scares me. I do not feel that the United States will change to a police state overnight, or even ever. The idea of living in a police state is not even close to the scariest part of this bill though. What scares me about this is the lack of hesitation to pass it on the government's part. This bill may (in a world filled with gumdrops and unicorns) lead to good things. It may even give the government the ability to 'win' the war on terror. But it is far more likely to lead to false accusations, unjust restrictions, and abuse and imprisonment of the innocent. This bill may be a necessary evil. I do not believe it is, but I will not preclude the possibility. If this bill were a necessary evil though, I would expect those responsible for creating it, reviewing it, and passing it to do so with the utmost care and reservation because even in a world where politicians cared about doing the right thing I can see no way the power given through this bill would not be abused. As far as I am aware, this bill has not been through an overly strict review process. It has not been treated with the care and fear, yes fear, it should have been. It is immoral and evil. The men and women who voted for this bill have effectively declared war on all US citizens, and they did it without batting an eye.
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Hi - good first post. I like the point you are making. Keep on -
ReplyDeleteTwo things...
ReplyDelete1 -- Most of the "security measures" introduced since 9/11 are based in fear. Fear of death, fear of financial ruin, fear of public irrationality. Freedom works both ways, to act and be acted upon. Attempts to restrict one often affects the other.
2 -- This bill and others like it were not passed without thought. Laws of this nature are a reflection of the emotions of the people. They exist because there is a great enough will among the people to allow such to exist.
@Daniel Thank you for your insights. You are absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteTo your first point, I think fear can be a motivation for good, as in the extra airport security measures put in place since 9/11 which as you say also restricts certain freedoms, but it is a price I am very willing to pay. On the other hand, fear can blind people into giving up far more freedom than they should, with the gain being not nearly great enough for the sacrifice, as I believe is the case with this new bill.
As to your second point, you have quite succinctly stated what I believe to be the major problem here, namely "Laws of this nature are a reflection of the emotions of the people," and you are right, they exist because the people allow it. However, I must also say that in my personal opinion (I phrase it thus because I don't wish anybody to take offense if they disagree with me. This is simply an opinion.) we elect what we hope are the best people to Congress and the White House because we trust they will act in the peoples' best interest and not necessarily simply reflect the peoples' emotions or opinions. Sadly, this presents a Catch-22 because the leaders must do what the people want or they will be replaced, but doing what is best for the people is often contrary to what they want. We are like children, but we have the power. Hopefully, we'll be able to act with a little more wisdom than most children would.
I remember a conversation with someone (no names here :) about a horrid situation they were in. They preferred that situation to the unknown. This is the fear I am referencing.
ReplyDeleteThe irony to politicians is as you stated... people want and expect them to be more than the average. This is rarely the case. A great leader is one who not only shows the right path, but makes it the desirable path to follow. Most leaders are caught within the memes of the day, it is the rare individual who can manipulate them.
I do not disagree with anything you have written. However, I am willing to allow for more risk, so I can have more freedom.
"A great leader is one who not only shows the right path, but makes it the desirable path to follow."
ReplyDeleteAmen brother.