I see no reason for democrats to back plans the Bush administration has with regards to the Patriot Act. It is a highly loathed piece of legislation from coast to coast since it gives unreasonable powers of search and seizure to the government. It is the cowards way to respect freedom, honoring it in platitude but not attitude.
It is acts like the Patriot Act that old Ben Franklin must have had in mind when asked after the Constitutional Convention what kind of government we got. His reply was, "A Republic. If you can keep it."
Democrats ought to fight this because it is clearly an abuse of human dignity to give the Bush administration leniency when it comes to detaining people. After all, the president's penchant for cruel and unusual punishment has led to a situation where it is difficult to recruit Americans, yet easy for Osama to find recruits. Think about that. Let it sink in.
Congress Arrives at A Deal on Patriot Act
We know the Patriot Act is the most ironically named piece of legislation in US history. We know that children will someday wonder why people didn't have more sense (the way they react today when studying McCarthy).
I wonder what democrats plan on telling these children when they are old and gray. That it is better to win with dishonor than lose and keep it? That sometimes you need to curtail freedom or else you might lose it? That the external threat to freedom can only be defeated by abandoning it internally? That if Osama can't stand freedom then we should respond by shrinking from it?
Is that how you raise children in a Republic you plan to keep?
No comments:
Post a Comment