Does this scare the bejeebers out of you?
It should give you the kohlrahbis. Patriot act, my eye. Chunks are downright unpatriotic for a country that values personal freedom. I can't find a mainstream source about how political protestors are going to be shoved into special areas from now on--that's another fun aspect of the act I've seen mentioned on less reliable sources. And that protects us how?
When I was 16, my mother, her old Russian teacher and I visited the Soviet Union. We broke off from the tour group to visit a family my mother knew. When I started to say something in the apartment hallway, everyone at once made hushing sounds. My mother even put her hand over my mouth. Later on she explained that the family might get in trouble if it became known they had American visitors. . .
Right now it's too easy to imagine a scenerio like that in this country. Neighbors encouraged to turn in neighbors who have "foreign looking" people visiting them. I find that prospect far scarier than a bunch of Quakers holding a protest. Quakers, for heaven's sake.
UPDATE: Here's one way to try to stop the TEMPORARY PATRIOT ACT from becoming PERMANENT.
When I was 16, my mother, her old Russian teacher and I visited the Soviet Union. We broke off from the tour group to visit a family my mother knew. When I started to say something in the apartment hallway, everyone at once made hushing sounds. My mother even put her hand over my mouth. Later on she explained that the family might get in trouble if it became known they had American visitors. . .
Right now it's too easy to imagine a scenerio like that in this country. Neighbors encouraged to turn in neighbors who have "foreign looking" people visiting them. I find that prospect far scarier than a bunch of Quakers holding a protest. Quakers, for heaven's sake.
UPDATE: Here's one way to try to stop the TEMPORARY PATRIOT ACT from becoming PERMANENT.
History will judge how we act today. I'm sure Japanese interment camps seemed very reasonable in the fearful environment of WWII. The hard part is not letting fear destroy our values.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about many people supporting holding suspects secretly and indefinitely without judicial review. I'd bet their attitude would change somewhat if an innocent member of their family disappeared. Mistakes are made all the time. That's what the courts are there to remedy. Our system is based on preferring a guilty person to go free than punish an innocent person wrongly. We take it for granted, but we shouldn't. It was and is a revolutionary concept in the history of the world.
The ghost of J. Edgar Hoover is cackling in the background.
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