Freedom or "Patriotism"? Why must we choose?

Well, the U.S. Congress has not yet permanently signed us over into a dictatorship. They have allowed 5 more weeks of the Patriot Act so that the civil liberties of our country can be reviewed and determine whether or not this act infringes upon them needlessly. Bush is asking that it be instated permanently.

I understand the push to fight terrorists. I really do. But, this goes directly against what the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is set up to protect us from. Without this law having been put in place so long ago to protect us, the citizens of the United States of America, we would be subject to being treated like citizens of any other "police state" - you know, those guys we fight against and condemn for their political and social practices.

Conservatives, take this into account, if this passes potential terrorists will not be the only people who are infringed upon. This gives the federal government the power "to conduct secret searches, obtain private records, intercept telephone calls, among other activities, to hunt for suspected terrorists." This means anyone's privacy can be disregarded-even yours.

Oh, and to those who support racial profiling, this is only the first step. It wouldn't take much at all for those in charge to think, Hmm.... Not all terrorists are dark-skinned or from other countries. We have had our own internal terrorist incidents in the past. You now say that if these people who are being profiled have nothing to hide, then they shouldn't mind. They should understand the situation and just deal with it. I kind of doubt that you will be so kind when you are being cavity searched and your belongings being pulled out for all the world to see. Your support of things like these will only allow that we, as a nation, have fewer freedoms.

People have to fight for freedom. Blood has to be shed. EVERYTIME. Many who supported the Patriot Act in the beginning were heard saying something like, "It's temporary, and it is for our own protection." Well, Bush now wants to take those freedoms away permanently. Who is now going to have to bleed to get back the freedoms that our forefathers fought, bled and died for us to have? I think those who supported this nonsense should be the first to step up to the plate. What? No takers?

Oh, and you know what else burns my ass? (And, maybe this should be a completely different post.) The fact that people keep telling me that if I am not patriotic or if I don't like the way the country is right now that maybe I should leave. Now maybe, as a teacher, I should not be upset with the ignorant. That, after all, is a correctable condition. But, for goodness' sake: shut up and listen upon ocassion, pick up (and read) a G.D. history book before you rattle off at the head, and, oh yeah, BITE ME.

1. Don't call me unpatriotic when you "patriotic" types are making a mockery of what our ancestors, or forebearers at least, sacrificed for. The founders of our nation were tired of being forced to support and worship a religion they did not want or believe. They came here, many loved ones dying along the way, for a fresh start.

2. That leads me to separation of church and state. That is another thing that is CLEARLY set up in our founding documents. (The reason? See #1 for simplified explanation.) And, now to be dubbed "patriotic" you have to support legislation that is clearly and blatantly UN-Constitutional. How the hell does that work?

3. I have been told that my issue in #2 is unfounded because our country is based on Christian values. Bullshit. Thomas Jefferson, the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence, 3rd president of our great nation, was a deist. He wrote the bill establishing religious freedom that was enacted in 1786. Today we would probably call him an agnostic. Deists believed in a god, but were not necessarily convinced that it was the Christian god -- or that there was more than one god at all. It was kind of a "great clockmaker" idea at the time, at least as I have been able to find. It is believed that many of our founding fathers were of this stint due to their beliefs, or lack thereof in Christianity and/or its superiority. (See www.deism.org)

4. As a teacher, and competent human being, this entire ordeal makes me want to cry. I teach literature and writing. My students also take history and science. This movement has made it nearly impossible to help them become independent thinkers who can analyze, explain and logically justify. Or is that the point?

As far as literature and writing are concerned, this new American attitude causes our young adults to not be able to put themselves in the place of others, to see things from another's point of view or to put evidence together in a formal paper to come to a proven logical conclusion. History? Well, that is just shot all to hell isn't it, if teachers are only teaching the parts of history that fit in with what the current religious guidelines approve of? And, science? During a recent class discussion, one of my more liberal seniors, who is usually pretty logical and level-headed, spouted out to me that "party line" nonsense that evolution and ID are both only theories and that one theory is not better than another -- that until one of them became a law, both should be taught on equal footing. Coralius recently had an excellent post on this subject in The Scientific Method In Layman's Terms .

I can only hope that this development is a temporary regression in our intellectual evolution.