Terrorism.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. - James Madison, fourth U.S. President (1751-1836)
Issue:
Terrorism has been a threat to the United States throughout the nation's history - yet the U.S. has traditionally avoided using the threat of terrorism to restrict the civil freedoms of its citizens, liberties in which we take pride as signature elements of our society and the envy of other nations. Since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, however, the U.S. government has taken numerous actions to restrict civil liberties and to eliminate the privacy of its citizens. Most of these policies were initiated during the Bush Administration and have been largely perpetuated and even increased by the Obama Administration.
Deception:
We are told that restrictions on civil rights and liberties are necessary, constitutional and desirable in order to deal with terrorism. This is deception.
Reality:
Terrorist acts aimed at the U.S. are usually rooted in legitimate opposition to policies and actions of the United States. It is easy to criticize the methods used by terrorists but not as easy to criticize the reasons behind their actions - partly because we make little if any effort to understand what lies beneath. Unless and until we make an effort to understand how our own actions contribute to terrorism - and alter those that are counterproductive to domestic and international good - we are destined to know terrorism as an ever-present threat to our safety.
Regardless, allowing terrorism to define our own lives through the restriction of liberties means - you guessed it - the terrorists win. One only need look at what happened in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks to understand how thoroughly the terrorists succeeded in transforming our country. The President and Congress started two foreign wars which have cost the country untold billions of dollars; passed the Patriot Act and other legislation that led to unprecedented restrictions and threats to our civil liberties; suspended a number of restrictions on government abuse of police power; restricted judicial rights such as the writ of habeas corpus (which guarantees the right to judicial review, or trial); opened a prison on foreign soil where hundreds of men have been held for years without charges or trials in contravention of U.S. laws and the constitution; and increased surveillance of all citizens through legislation allowing government interception of all telephone calls, e-mails, text messages and internet traffic (among other measures) to the point where privacy is no longer available to any of us at all. The destructive precedents set by these actions will continue to rule U.S. law and court decisions for years to come and will increasingly be used against citizens as well as foreigners.
Attacks on our territory are not new to the United States and have traditionally been regarded as criminal acts and prosecuted under U.S. constitutional law. Still, these have sometimes led to short-term repressive government actions which are invariably discredited in later years as alarmist reactions leading to unconstitutional and unreasonable restrictions on the rights of citizens. The difference today is that events such as bombings are regarded as acts of terrorism rather than as criminal acts. This enables the government, under the laws passed since September 11, 2001 to readily dispense with the inconveniences of the the United States Constitution and its amendments, as well as our long tradition and pretense of honoring judicial law and civil rights. In this way repression of citizens enters the picture, rather than just the prosecution of the criminals. And for now the majority has been convinced that this is the only - and inevitable - path to security in the United States.
Classifying criminal acts as "terrorism" demonstrates the power of language to incite greater fear and install greater repression of rights. It seems almost too simple to be true until you observe the coverage of an event like the bombings at the marathon in Boston. The criminal acts of bombings by two brothers, one a U.S. citizen and the other a resident alien eligible for citizenship save for mistakes he made unrelated to the bombings, became terrorist acts in the eyes of the government and citizens of the U.S. and renewed the fears instilled by the events of September 2001. None of the restrictive laws passed in the 10+ years since the September 2001 attacks helped prevent the Boston bombings. It was the government's own failure to sufficiently investigate warnings provided by Russia, the internet, telephone calls, text messages and travel itineraries that made the bombings possible.
Resolution:
The United States must dispense with the ill-begotten laws passed in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001 and reaffirm its commitment to due process and civil rights. This is the message we have put forth to the world for generations but have lost in recent years. Only by renewing our commitment to civil rights, due process, rule of law, privacy and respect for human rights can we set an example for the world and its would-be terrorists and escape our steady downward slide toward greater repression.
Related Essays: Audacity to Paucity of Hope.
Terrorism has been a threat to the United States throughout the nation's history - yet the U.S. has traditionally avoided using the threat of terrorism to restrict the civil freedoms of its citizens, liberties in which we take pride as signature elements of our society and the envy of other nations. Since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, however, the U.S. government has taken numerous actions to restrict civil liberties and to eliminate the privacy of its citizens. Most of these policies were initiated during the Bush Administration and have been largely perpetuated and even increased by the Obama Administration.
Deception:
We are told that restrictions on civil rights and liberties are necessary, constitutional and desirable in order to deal with terrorism. This is deception.
Reality:
Terrorist acts aimed at the U.S. are usually rooted in legitimate opposition to policies and actions of the United States. It is easy to criticize the methods used by terrorists but not as easy to criticize the reasons behind their actions - partly because we make little if any effort to understand what lies beneath. Unless and until we make an effort to understand how our own actions contribute to terrorism - and alter those that are counterproductive to domestic and international good - we are destined to know terrorism as an ever-present threat to our safety.
Regardless, allowing terrorism to define our own lives through the restriction of liberties means - you guessed it - the terrorists win. One only need look at what happened in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks to understand how thoroughly the terrorists succeeded in transforming our country. The President and Congress started two foreign wars which have cost the country untold billions of dollars; passed the Patriot Act and other legislation that led to unprecedented restrictions and threats to our civil liberties; suspended a number of restrictions on government abuse of police power; restricted judicial rights such as the writ of habeas corpus (which guarantees the right to judicial review, or trial); opened a prison on foreign soil where hundreds of men have been held for years without charges or trials in contravention of U.S. laws and the constitution; and increased surveillance of all citizens through legislation allowing government interception of all telephone calls, e-mails, text messages and internet traffic (among other measures) to the point where privacy is no longer available to any of us at all. The destructive precedents set by these actions will continue to rule U.S. law and court decisions for years to come and will increasingly be used against citizens as well as foreigners.
Attacks on our territory are not new to the United States and have traditionally been regarded as criminal acts and prosecuted under U.S. constitutional law. Still, these have sometimes led to short-term repressive government actions which are invariably discredited in later years as alarmist reactions leading to unconstitutional and unreasonable restrictions on the rights of citizens. The difference today is that events such as bombings are regarded as acts of terrorism rather than as criminal acts. This enables the government, under the laws passed since September 11, 2001 to readily dispense with the inconveniences of the the United States Constitution and its amendments, as well as our long tradition and pretense of honoring judicial law and civil rights. In this way repression of citizens enters the picture, rather than just the prosecution of the criminals. And for now the majority has been convinced that this is the only - and inevitable - path to security in the United States.
Classifying criminal acts as "terrorism" demonstrates the power of language to incite greater fear and install greater repression of rights. It seems almost too simple to be true until you observe the coverage of an event like the bombings at the marathon in Boston. The criminal acts of bombings by two brothers, one a U.S. citizen and the other a resident alien eligible for citizenship save for mistakes he made unrelated to the bombings, became terrorist acts in the eyes of the government and citizens of the U.S. and renewed the fears instilled by the events of September 2001. None of the restrictive laws passed in the 10+ years since the September 2001 attacks helped prevent the Boston bombings. It was the government's own failure to sufficiently investigate warnings provided by Russia, the internet, telephone calls, text messages and travel itineraries that made the bombings possible.
Resolution:
The United States must dispense with the ill-begotten laws passed in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001 and reaffirm its commitment to due process and civil rights. This is the message we have put forth to the world for generations but have lost in recent years. Only by renewing our commitment to civil rights, due process, rule of law, privacy and respect for human rights can we set an example for the world and its would-be terrorists and escape our steady downward slide toward greater repression.
Related Essays: Audacity to Paucity of Hope.