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Tag(s): American Facism; Americans; Americans-Things American; Communications; Freedom; Freedoms; Government; History; Laws; Liberty; (more...) People; Privacy; Representation; Security (less...)
Group(s): Greenville South Carolina Move-OnAdd to My Group

October 8, 2007 at 01:33:50

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Americans No Longer Question Authority

by Timothy V. Gatto Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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HitlerHave we passed the point of no return in this country? Has the right engineered such a change in our laws that nothing can be done to bring the country back from an Orwellian State that exists to serve the oligarchy and has stripped the common man of his basic unalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Has the Federal government become so powerful that it can imprison people for dissent? Can this government really designate anyone it wished a terrorist or a terrorist sympathizer and prosecute him or her without the benefit of due process? Have we really come to this point?

Some believe we have. There are some that honestly believe that America has no safeguards for civil liberties. These people believe that the right of free speech and the rights guaranteed us under the Constitution have been replaced by new laws that abridge our expectations of privacy, our right to dissent, and our right to challenge our government in a court of law to be decided by a jury of our peers.

These concerns are everywhere. I see them in articles, in e-mails, in telephone conversations and in the media. If this has indeed taken place, how was it done? Has the global war on terrorism taken such a priority in this nation that it now infringes on our personal freedom? If this is the case, can we ever get back what we have lost?

I believe that these questions are important and that we should all be asking them. I also believe that we should all be asking the question that if this is the case, how we as a people can change the situation. We should all be engaged in taking a reality check.

We should be asking ourselves if this government really needs the power that we seem to have ceded to them. We should be asking if the government really needs the authority to monitor our phone conversations, our e-mails and our mail. We should also be concerned about the laws that have been passed that require every citizen to have a national ID card. We should be asking the question why would it be necessary for the Federal Government to have the power to search our homes without our knowledge or without us being there because they say that they have information that indicates that we “might” be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers without having to show evidence of that belief because they claim it is “sensitive” in nature and could jeopardize “national security”.

The point I am making here is that the government has indeed overstepped its authority. The people that worry about whether or not we have reached the point of no return are asking a reasonable question. Have we turned into a police state? You tell me. Many Americans claim that the question is not important because they have nothing to hide. From my perspective that comes from 57 years on this planet, we all have something to hide. There is no one that lives that doesn’t have secrets that they would rather not be exposed. There is not a person alive that has not broken some law at sometime in their lives. No human being on Earth is untouchable. This is not opinion, it is a fact.

Now is the time to reflect on what one of the greatest patriot and statesmen in American history once said. Benjamin Franklin said “Those that would give up their freedom for a little security shall have neither freedom nor security”. This statement carries more weight and meaning now than it ever has, at least in my lifetime. When the government can do what it will, whether it be to tap your phone or to search your house without a signed warrant from a judge that has been given probable cause to issue a warrant, we have no rights. Thus we have indeed become a police state by the very definition of the words.

Will we have the chance to rectify the situation and put this nation back on track as a nation that obeys its own Constitution and thus the rule of law, or is it too late? It becomes too late when our leaders no longer talk about the civil rights that we have lost. When the citizenry is unconcerned and the leaders that are elected by the citizenry don’t examine the constitutionality of laws passed hastily by people that were afraid of things that they didn’t understand and voluntarily gave up their rights, it is doubtful that without a discussion of these freedoms lost, that we will ever get them back.

The two political parties that govern this nation do not seem as if they are in the least bit concerned that Americans have given up their rights against illegal search and seizure, the expectation of privacy in their communications, or the right to due process which is the right to be told what they are being charged for, the right of representation by a lawyer, the right to a speedy trail, and the right to be judged by a jury f their peers. If you are suspected of terrorism or of aiding a terrorist, you no longer have these rights. It doesn’t matter if you were born here or if you are an immigrant. The only thing that matters is that you are suspected by people that don’t have to tell you why they suspect you.

The major Democratic candidates and the major Republican candidates are not questioning these things. The laws have already been passed and the mechanisms in place. Meanwhile the people are silent and compliant. Have you ever wondered how the Nazi’s were allowed to subjugate the German People? You need not wonder any longer. It has happened to the American People now too. The terrorists have won. If like President Bush claims, they hate us for our freedom, they need hate us any longer. We have no freedom to hate us for.

http://liberalpro.blogspot.com

Tim was banned from the site for posting private email from the publisher to him on his blog, and then attacking the publisher and the site in emails and articles. OEN has no responsibility to publish articles from people who attack the site. Tim's accusations that he was banned for his political positions are untrue. Check his articles. He repetitively wrote about and had published exactly the things he claimed he was banned for doing.

Former Chairman of the Liberal Party of America, Tim is a retired Army Sergeant. He currently lives in South Carolina. A regular contributor to OpEdNews, he is the author of Kimchee Kronicles and is currently at work on a new novel.

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5 comments

My goal at this point in my life is to wake up the sleeping American public. Am a lowly public servant who'll likely be working til I'm 65 since universal healthcare doesn't seem to be on its way to our nation any time soon. My spare time is spent speaking out for Peace and an end to war as the solution to any problem our country sees as affecting it.
paz loveMy goal at this point in my life is to wake up the sleeping American public. Am a lowly public servant who'll likely be working til I'm 65 since universal healthcare doesn't seem to be on its way to our nation any time soon. My spare time is spent speaking out for Peace and an end to war as the solution to any problem our country sees as affecting it.

Some of us do...

It really does amaze me, frequently, how many of my allegedly well-educated friends and acquaintances are willing to allow the government to spy on "we the citizens" so that we can "be safer". It horrifies me that so many rights have just been quietly disappeared and only the folks on the so-called Left are complaining. We are mocked as people who are not patriotic, don't love our country, love Saddam Hussein, or whoever the bogey-man dujour might be.

Thanks for an essay that needs to be widely read.

by paz love (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 71 comments) on Monday, October 8, 2007 at 12:31:59 PM

58 year old woman, liberal, and thoroughly greatful to this website (and others like it) for providing me with news and information that I never see on television.
Mary Eman58 year old woman, liberal, and thoroughly greatful to this website (and others like it) for providing me with news and information that I never see on television.

Lost Rights

Whenever I hear "If it keeps us safer, then I don't mind giving up a few rights", I shudder. Rights lost are not regained. It's just too bad that we can't all feel as strongly about the Bill of rights and Constitution as some people do about the Bible.

by Mary Eman (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments) on Monday, October 8, 2007 at 4:32:56 PM

I am an average American citizen. I look around in shock at the condition of our Constitutional Republic. I am an angry peasant.
Angry PeasantI am an average American citizen. I look around in shock at the condition of our Constitutional Republic. I am an angry peasant.

Keep taking

They may not listen to us yet, but sooner or later something will happen in their own little world and they will snap to the truth of this.

Let's hope it is sooner !!

Great article

by Angry Peasant (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments) on Monday, October 8, 2007 at 6:10:36 PM

Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress and for the National Governors Association. He advocates a Second American Revolution, beginning with an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments. He is Chair of the Independent Party of Maryland.
Joel S. HirschhornJoel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress and for the National Governors Association. He advocates a Second American Revolution, beginning with an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments. He is Chair of the Independent Party of Maryland.

Americans are irresponsible

Please take a few minutes and read my article:

http://www.swans.com/library/art13/joelh01.html

by Joel S. Hirschhorn (133 articles, 37 quicklinks, 60 diaries, 533 comments) on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 11:30:34 AM

I thought it time for a revision to the biography. Where I seem to have "disturbed" a fair number of posters here at OEN to the point they've asked me not to write about their comments, feel free to call me "troll", "shill", "neo-con lapdog", "jack-booted thug", or "bad hat Harry". They've all been applied to me over the past year because I have challenged people to think beyond the emotions of an issue and review all the available data – not just the cherry-picked stuff. Of course, this appr...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Tom MurphyI thought it time for a revision to the biography. Where I seem to have "disturbed" a fair number of posters here at OEN to the point they've asked me not to write about their comments, feel free to call me "troll", "shill", "neo-con lapdog", "jack-booted thug", or "bad hat Harry". They've all been applied to me over the past year because I have challenged people to think beyond the emotions of an issue and review all the available data – not just the cherry-picked stuff. Of course, this appr...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Americans Question Levels of Risk

In response to the linked article - http://www.swans.com/library/art13/joelh01.html - "Irresponsible Americans", I find these questions amusing, "Some examples of personal irresponsible behavior: Why do so many people still smoke cigarettes despite all the evidence of their health risk? Why do so many refuse to use seat belts in their cars despite their clear benefit? Why do so many drive when drunk, high on illegal drugs, or distracted by using cell phones? Why do so many eat large quantities of fat and sugar-rich foods (or allowing their children to do so) knowing that they make people overweight and unhealthy?"

More amusing is the "fuel" being poured on the flames associated by the questions, "What is clear is that commercial interests want segments of the population to maintain their personal irresponsible behavior."

Yup, twist the reasoning of why we are irresponsible onto greedy entities out for a buck rather than the American people themselves. Americans are "irresponsible" because the small levels of risk associated with each of the above-mentioned activities are – in a word – acceptable. And the risk is acceptable because the reward (albeit short-term) far outweighs the results of the risk (which is usually realized in the long-term). Put simply, "Who wants to live forever?".

So, is it irresponsible to practice these activities if you've accepted the presumption that "life is too short, so why waste precious time"? Am I going to pursue the happiness that I want for myself or will I listen to others that state they know my happiness better than me, and avoid activities that have acceptable levels or risk not just to me but to the collective we? Yup, you bet I am, and while you ponder that, hand me that bag of M&Ms!

But does my personal irresponsibility have a direct correlation on my civic irresponsibility? Please note that this presumes there is a civic irresponsibility that matches the sum of all American's personal irresponsibility – hefty indeed! Well, It might, but certainly not to the doom and gloom magnitude claimed by others. Civic irresponsibility in America – to the extent it exists – is simply the path of least resistance, which is only human nature.

As I've written elsewhere here:

"In a word, it's "easier" [for Americans not to practice civic responsibility] but as an added bonus it's also "fun"! And why do Americans feel that way? Most of us have been brought up to think that government will take care of us – Medicare/Medicaid, social security, welfare, etc; so... why bother with government UNLESS it's taking away an "entitlement"? Rights can and have been sacrificed for convenience and ease.

"Additionally, the concept and perhaps ability of taking responsibility for our own actions have been sacrificed before the altar of political correctness as promoted by liberalism. In the rush to claim that everyone is special, PC (and Barney the Dinosaur) has cast obstacles that further divide us as a people and nation of underachievers. "It's not Mohammed's fault for flying the plane into the tower; it's the nation's fault for not having exposed Mohammed to a caring and nurturing environment. If only the nation understood more so Mohammed's rich and colorful Islamic background..." Yeah, right!

"And if some of the PC-fed sheep depart from the collective goal of underachieving and actually succeed at goals that THEY have set, then they are castigated and their successes attributed solely to the village (i.e., tax those that succeed at a higher rate because they...succeeded... uhm... because of the village not their own desires. Yeah, yeah – that's the ticket)."

What's needed to address any level of civic irresponsibility is not an Article V Convention or another 9/11 investigation. Although and ironically the media would LOVE for either of those to happen, we as a people desperately need an increased awareness of what it MEANS to be an American – Democrat, Independent, Republican, or Whatever. And therein lays our problem.

The article mentions those who do not want to give up their power but only as power pertains to the majority. However, here in America we have empowered the minority with the voice of a majority in the name of political correctness. The PC belief that we can have our cake and eat it too (i.e., inclusion and diversity) cannot continue unabated for it continues to confuse our concept of America, re-writing our values as each minor voice is granted equality with the majority.

America is no longer the melting pot but rather a grocery shelf that is shared by a can of corned beef, a box of rice pilaf, and a tub of 0 grams trans-fat margarine. Where before the three would be united as one in a meal, now each concentrates on its own "uniqueness" and claim the only thing they have in common is the shelf. To bring each back into a single meal is a chef willing to take them off the shelf and throw them into the pot.

And what form should that chef take, I wonder? Personally, I prefer the Galloping Gourmet, but some (see the article's picture above) seem to threaten us with the "Soup Nazi" from the Sienfeld - Episode 116 (which is 911 upside down...very, very strange).