When James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights in 1789, he could not have fathomed the horrors we would face in the 21st century. The Founding Fathers worried not about terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, or the Axis of Evil, but rather about the implications of having a federal government with unchecked and absolute power over its citizenry. With this in mind, our country’s 1st Congress put in place the freedoms to which we cling today. But just two hundred years later these ideals are crumbling in the face of the cleverly named Patriot Act, the illegal arrest and torture of military detainees, the TSA’s secret “no-fly” lists, abuse of material witness statutes, and – my personal favorite – warrantless spying on American citizens. Our Congress and leaders no longer listen to the people, and the only “serious and mounting threat to our country” in sight is our faltering democracy and dwindling civil liberties.
During the American Revolution these ideals were worth fighting and dying for. But while our troops continue to fight and die on a daily basis, our war has changed its venue and its biggest casualty has suddenly become the values we once fought to the death to preserve. Our Founding Fathers would be disappointed, for we have taken the things they held most sacred and desecrated them in ways that no terrorist ever could. We also spent close to $500 billion and killed over 600,000 civilians in the process: that is 25 times the financial damage and 200 times the human casualties of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And all in the name of national security.
“National security” is one of the most arbitrary phrase used today. It is most frequently interspersed throughout President Bush’s usual rigmarole on illegal immigration and nuclear weapons, and the lengths we will go to preserve it have, to this day, met no ends. What does this phrase even mean? Does national security entail eliminating any and all threats to our existence, or physically securing our borders against foreign invaders, or perhaps even creating cute little baby-Americas throughout the Middle East? Even if national security could be defined, it would still probably be impossible to attain.
The fact that we as a nation are willing to sacrifice our own values to fight for something we do not understand, and with no true objective in mind, is mind-boggling. Upholding the principles that made our country great is not about being a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian: it is about being an American. At what point do we put a stop to this political hogwash and reclaim the freedoms we once fought to protect?
Kayla F.
May 12, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Well spoken, this post really helped me with a debate I am doing in school. Thanks!
Mike H.
December 17, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Sometimes you gotta forego certain luxuries for the greater good. We do not have access to the classified data that the government sees, so we really can’t judge issues like these. What’s in it for them to do this though? They don’t gain anything with no-fly lists or broader surveillence except keeping America safe.
ron r.
December 17, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I could not agree more Mr. Rosson, the words “national security” have been used and abused by the Bush administration to paralyze our society with fear. The propaganda war our government wages is astounding, and the fact that it influences Congress and results in laws being put in place of which nobody is in favor is just idiotic.