The Dismantling of American Liberties - Act III

After the events of 9/11, fear and anxiety abounded across the United States. American senses were bombarded with constant reminders of the days events by way of newspaper articles, television stations, political speeches, all rehashing the tragedy for months. President George W. Bush, and the rest of his administration worked diligently feeding the propaganda machine. Right from the beginning, Bush referred to the events as “acts of war” when, in fact, they were criminal acts to be dealt with through legal means. By addressing them as war acts, he set himself up with the justification for long, drawn out, ever expanding wars with no discernible end.

Our comfortable state of stability was rocked to the core by the fall of the twin towers. There, in the midst of the tragedy, were our government officials, shaking the ground a bit more by telling us how stealthily the “terrorists” had managed to come onto our home soil, undetected, in spite of our great efforts at monitoring the activities of the terrorist underworld. We were fed conflicting stories, carefully crafted to destroy all trust and any sense of safety.As the months dragged on, the flames of fear and anger were fanned, with more and more stories of the atrocities we would endure if something wasn't done to put a halt to terrorist activities. Scenarios were put out there and left hanging to allow time for emotionally exhausted citizens to arrive at the conclusions they were being led toward.

By October 7, 2001, the American military was setting up training camps in Georgia, with others based throughout Africa to follow. Nineteen days later, the USA Patriot Act, also known as Ashcroft's police-state bill, was passed into law.

What tools? The provisions of the Patriot Act simply stripped American citizens of their constitutional rights. Those we were told it was meant to impede and assist in the capture of, were not likely to be stopped. The people most affected by the Act were law abiding American citizens.

The day after the attacks, President Bush promised that “we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms.” Within a few short months, it became apparent the the “War on Terrorism” was a ruse for the purpose of challenging the value of freedoms which Americans have always held dear. The consequences of the Act are such that law abiding citizens have been stripped of their constitutionally guaranteed liberties, while doing nothing to secure the country against acts of terrorism.

Beginning September 18^th and continuing for several weeks, anthrax appeared in mailings to news media offices and two Democratic US Senators, killing 5 people and infecting another 17. This new form of attack conveniently occurred right on the tail of the suicide airplane hijackings, in time to deliver another emotional blow to a reeling population. A badly shaken Congress gave in to the Bush Administration's demands and passed the Act. There were no public hearings or debates, no conferences nor specialized committee reports or overviews. It simply was passed without question, effectively stomping out the civil liberties on which the United States was founded.

The passing of the Patriot Act set the stage for the complete annihilation of the United States government as it was intended, and began the building of a totalitarian replacement by way of the Homeland Security Act ( HAS ), signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002.

This Act created both the United States Department of Homeland Security and a new cabinet-level of Secretary of Homeland Security.

Failing to monitor the activities of our elected officials has brought us to this point, but the real question is why? Why did we not act when it became clear that our freedoms were being trampled? Why was there not a greater outcry? Why were so many people willing to suffer the loss of freedoms, without a determination for when they would be returned?

Aside from our fears and failures, the answer to these questions can also be found in our past history. During wartime people expect to be inconvenienced a bit. We expect for some limitations to be enacted. It's usually a necessary evil to be endured until our mission is accomplished and peace is restored. In the past, restoration of any sacrificed liberties goes hand in hand with restoration of peace.

In these modern times, we didn't foresee that there may never be an end to this war. It is unlikely that the “enemy” will capitulate and come to an agreement with us. There will always be new issues, new ideas which may draw angry detractors, and with them will come new terrors. The “terrorists” we are warring against today, can easily be replaced by others tomorrow. If we continue to willingly relinquish our freedoms in a trade for a false feeling of security and safety, how will we ever recover them later, if the end of the war doesn't come?

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