The rights protected by those first ten amendments include: the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, the free exercise of religion, the freedom to petition, the peoples' right to keep and bear arms, and the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, cruel and unusual punishment, and compelled self-incrimination. Also included are restrictions on Congress' power to establish an official religion, and prohibiting the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. In criminal cases, the Bill of Rights requires indictment by a grand jury, guarantees a speedy trial with an impartial and local jury, and prohibits double jeopardy.
The Bush Administration, citing the mass-tragedy of 9/11 as their cover, has systematically dismantled the Bill of Rights and re-interpreted the Constitution to the end of amassing virtually all power in the Executive Branch, with few rights left to the people.
Under the twisted legal philosophy developed by Alberto Gonzales and other Bush toadies, a virtual executive dictatorship was established, giving the President the authority to do anything and everything he chooses to do as long as he uses the magic words: acting as "commander-in-chief" of the armed forces during "wartime." (One must note that this war is a "war on terrorism" that has no end, since there always will be terrorists of one sort or another.)
Under these warped legal interpretations, the Bush Administration has ensured that citizens no longer possess most of those freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. After six years, we have seen one after another of those first ten amendments abandoned or distorted. Under the guise of searching for "terrorists," Bush Administration policies have established that American citizens no longer enjoy the 800-year-old concept of habeas corpus, which says we can't be arrested and put on trial without a court hearing validating the charges; we no longer are guaranteed attorney-client privacy rights; we can be thrown into military stockades and kept isolated from society forever without access to a lawyer; we can have our home and computer and email searched without a warrant and without our even knowing of the violation of our privacy; we can be subjected to physical abuse and sent under "extraordinary rendition" to countries that specialize in extreme torture, and on and on.
REMOVING WOULD-BE DICTATORS
I think the tears that welled in my eyes while standing in the Philadelphia assembly chamber where the Declaration of Independence was debated and ratified was not just for the ghosts of the American legal giants who had shaped our future more than two centuries ago, but also for what our society and government have come to under the current leadership in the White House.
Bush, who once "joked" that it sure would be easier to rule if he were a dictator, has been in that position now for years. True, in 2007 Bush's moral authority is slipping as the public has figured out the true dimensions of the man -- the midterm election results and recent polls are good demonstrations of that. But he continues to maintain his control of the military, the judicial system (having appointed ideologically-friendly judges and loyalist U.S. attorneys), the Department of Justice.
He starts disastrous wars on his own and says he'll carry them out even if Congress and the American people try to stop him. Likewise, when the Supreme Court slaps down his most egregious policies, he either ignores them or figures out a way to go around the ruling; Gonzales has warned the courts to stay out of matters involving "national security."
In short, we have our own "King" George to deal with, and the American public has taken the first moves by slapping down Bush's party in the midterm elections. The next step involves hard, tough investigatory hearings -- on Iraq policy, the misuse of intelligence, lies and deceptions, corruption, domestic spying, torture as state policy, etc. etc. -- and then likely impeachment and removal from office, especially if Bush and Cheney continue in their irrational escalation of the Iraq War and the inauguration of a new one against Iran.
The damage the Bush Bunker crew have wrought in the past six years, and the further damage and destruction they can do in the next two years, almost makes one sick to contemplate. Even if the Democrats in 2008 were to maintain control of the Congress and take the White House as well, it would take years, perhaps a decade or more, to start to undo the worst aspects of that destruction.
But one starts where and when one can. The process of Constitutional restoration begins now, with each of us. If we are united in our resolve, we can best tyranny of all sorts. We will not be moved. We shall overcome. #
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at Western Washington University and San Diego State University, worked as a writer/editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently is co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment: crisispapers@comcast.net .
First published by The Crisis Papers 2/6/07. >> www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/fathers.htm
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).
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