Why I used to love my civil rights
I can not stand the state of affairs in the United States anymore. We have a government that has gone haywire on the idea of security and terrorism. Let's go back and look at history very quickly before I go off on my rant. How many terrorist attacks have we had on this country in our first ~230 years of existance? The answer is 3. They are the truck bombing of the WTC, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the plane attack on the WTC.
Now, compare that to how many happen throughout Europe every year, in the middle east, in South western Asia (former Soviet Union). When you look at it that way, and make the comparison, it really makes all the fear mongering in the US look like what it is, overblown fear mongering. Now don't get me wrong, I do feel for those that lost in 9/11. That was a horrendous crime, and yes those who did it need to be punished, by that, I mean, put down like a rabbid dog. Take them out back, and put one through the skull, it guarrantees, they are not a problem anymore.
Before I get lost on the many directions I could go from here, and bitch about the mistakes our country are making, let me get back on topic, our reaction to all of this internally. It was said over and over, that the best way to fight terrorism, is too not let them get to our way of life. To continue to live like we do, a free and open society. One that thrives on allowing individuals being individuals, without government intrusion, and supervision. One of our founding forefathers was even quoted (sorry, I forget which one to be sure, so I can't give proper credit) as saying, "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." Why would one of our forefathers say this, when we were about to make a declaration of independence to the sovereign nation controlling us? Well, because they were used to living under a ruling government that had no respect for the people's privacy. They saw first hand what that does to society. In our everlasting knee jerk reaction to 9/11, we are turning our country into the same intrusive, privacy wrecking system that exist in the parts of world that we are engaging war in. WTF?!
Can someone please explain to me how us turning into the privacy less society that exist in the parts of the world that our problems stem from is going to help. After all the totalitarian oppression of that part of the world is largely responsible for the mindset that is breeding terrorism throughout the world?
Let me go back to a quote I stated earlier, "The best way to combat terrorism is not let them effect our way of life, not to let them change how we live, as free American's." (That may not be an exact quote of anyone, but it has been made numerous times in many forms, several times by our current president even) These terrorist want to effect our lives. They hate our open society, they come from a closed, tightly controlled society. A free an open society, is their biggest threat. The only power structure they know revolves around a tight oppression of society. They manage to do this through religion. In North Korea it is through government. In other parts of the world, it is through a various combination of those two.
Does all this mean that I am against tightening security, no, some of that needed to happen. But, some of what is going on does not. Civil liberties and privacy are being erased at such an alarming rate, that we are almost as bad as the McCarthy days of the early 50's. Hell, we probably are that bad now, just the government learned from its mistakes then, and is being much more quiet about it. The Patriot act makes it a crime to reveal anything about it from anyside, in some respects, it denies you from seeking counsel. WHAT? Why are not more people outraged by that. The checks and balances are gone. The executive branch now has more authority than the rest.
The latest thing I have been reading about that is getting under my skin is the national ID card. Now there isn't going to be an official one, because that is too obvious, and people will actually realize what is going on. So the government is blackmailing the country into standardizing our drivers license into one. For the most part this isn't bad, and a standardized card is beneficial. But what happens when they start requiring biometric information? Your DNA, retinal scans, and fingerprints all required in a big federal database. Sure this will make it easier to solve some crimes, but it steps right over an expected right of privacy that has been held in the country for 230 years.
People in this country have had it good for so long, now that some of what has made it so good is being taken away, they don't even realize what precedent they are setting. You can look to things like Farenheith 451 as an extreme example of a possible outcome our current paths leads us too. Now I am no way saying we will get that far, I don't think even American's are stupid enough to let it go that far, but that is the path we are currently on.
I have never been fingerprinted in my life. There is no biometric info of mine in any government database that I know of, if so it is medical, and HEPA , (in theory), makes that off limits to law enforcement. Now do I break the law, beyond speeding, no, I don't. And in doing so, I have an expectation to a right to privacy. It is called the Bill of Rights. America was founded on letting people live the life they want so long as they don't interfere with someone else living out their life.
I miss my country, and I want it back.