Post by charlielu112 on Dec 4, 2012 23:08:35 GMT -5
CHASING WATERFALLS
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”- James Madison
A government’s purpose is to protect its people and the peoples’ rights. Nevertheless, it is becoming more apparent that this might not be the case. As governments choose to prioritize protection of its people, the protection of the peoples’ rights is forgotten. The September 11th attacks, and its aftermath, showed the conflict of interests between the safety of the people and the enforcement of peoples’ rights. The attacks evoked a symphony of emotions that ultimately cried for blood. The emphasis on the preservation of the safety of the people, and the integrity of the system, by the Federal Government threatened the rights of people with tyranny and oppression.
The Bush administration’s War on Terror threatened not only the rights of American citizens, but also the rights of those living in Afghanistan. The invasion of Afghanistan was masked as the United States liberating a people from terrorists; a word that had become synonymous with someone outside the consensus. Prior to this, the paranoia of said terrorists was tremendous as seen in the decline of airplane fare as well as the backlash towards Muslims. Similar to John Proctor and Giles Corey, the citizens of Afghanistan and majority of Muslims did nothing wrong as Al-Qaeda was the culprit, but just as the events in the book progress; the mere association with those that do the Devil’s work, or in this case Al-Qaeda, the innocent suffered undeserved punishment. The People of the United States would come to see the intrusion of their rights by the Federal Government in the form of the USA PATRIOT Act and the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act . The Acts are similar to the Dred Scott Case of 1857, where being black was a crime that deemed a people unworthy of citizenship, in such a way that terrorism was the crime and justified detaining individuals longer than specified in the 6th/7th Amendment. This shows the oppression of accused as seen in The Crucible where the accused had no voice as in they were silenced by the vanity of Danforth, who ignores they’re arguments and sees what he wants to see; by the fact that just as confessed witches lost their standing in society so did supposed terrorists. Keep in mind, Terrorism is not as black-and-white of an issue as slavery because there were cases where individuals were unjustly prosecuted. For example, would be the targeting of radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, for killing where he was born in New Mexico, but was killed in an American missile strike in September. His case shows just like Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible, no one is safe from tyranny regardless of social stature. The actions of the Federal Government that have limited the rights of the People have left deep scars on the identity of the nation and have the focus of critics that say America is becoming a police state.
The long term consequences of 9/11, tragically, included seeing the United States degenerate from its noble beginnings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As a result of chasing waterfalls, America has become the very thing it was looking to persecute by wielding tyranny and oppression. Possibly, one of worst things to come from 9/11 was the doubt of the people in their government. What we can learn from the attacks is to forgive and rebuild, but never forget.
Word Count: 583
Works Consulted: www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/the-daily-need/are-we-becoming-a-police-state-five-things-that-have-civil-liberties-advocates-nervous/12563/
ARE WE BECOMING A POLICE STATE? FIVE THINGS THAT HAVE CIVIL LIBERTIES ADVOCATES NERVOUS BY SAL GENTILE
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”- James Madison
A government’s purpose is to protect its people and the peoples’ rights. Nevertheless, it is becoming more apparent that this might not be the case. As governments choose to prioritize protection of its people, the protection of the peoples’ rights is forgotten. The September 11th attacks, and its aftermath, showed the conflict of interests between the safety of the people and the enforcement of peoples’ rights. The attacks evoked a symphony of emotions that ultimately cried for blood. The emphasis on the preservation of the safety of the people, and the integrity of the system, by the Federal Government threatened the rights of people with tyranny and oppression.
The Bush administration’s War on Terror threatened not only the rights of American citizens, but also the rights of those living in Afghanistan. The invasion of Afghanistan was masked as the United States liberating a people from terrorists; a word that had become synonymous with someone outside the consensus. Prior to this, the paranoia of said terrorists was tremendous as seen in the decline of airplane fare as well as the backlash towards Muslims. Similar to John Proctor and Giles Corey, the citizens of Afghanistan and majority of Muslims did nothing wrong as Al-Qaeda was the culprit, but just as the events in the book progress; the mere association with those that do the Devil’s work, or in this case Al-Qaeda, the innocent suffered undeserved punishment. The People of the United States would come to see the intrusion of their rights by the Federal Government in the form of the USA PATRIOT Act and the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act . The Acts are similar to the Dred Scott Case of 1857, where being black was a crime that deemed a people unworthy of citizenship, in such a way that terrorism was the crime and justified detaining individuals longer than specified in the 6th/7th Amendment. This shows the oppression of accused as seen in The Crucible where the accused had no voice as in they were silenced by the vanity of Danforth, who ignores they’re arguments and sees what he wants to see; by the fact that just as confessed witches lost their standing in society so did supposed terrorists. Keep in mind, Terrorism is not as black-and-white of an issue as slavery because there were cases where individuals were unjustly prosecuted. For example, would be the targeting of radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, for killing where he was born in New Mexico, but was killed in an American missile strike in September. His case shows just like Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible, no one is safe from tyranny regardless of social stature. The actions of the Federal Government that have limited the rights of the People have left deep scars on the identity of the nation and have the focus of critics that say America is becoming a police state.
The long term consequences of 9/11, tragically, included seeing the United States degenerate from its noble beginnings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As a result of chasing waterfalls, America has become the very thing it was looking to persecute by wielding tyranny and oppression. Possibly, one of worst things to come from 9/11 was the doubt of the people in their government. What we can learn from the attacks is to forgive and rebuild, but never forget.
Word Count: 583
Works Consulted: www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/the-daily-need/are-we-becoming-a-police-state-five-things-that-have-civil-liberties-advocates-nervous/12563/
ARE WE BECOMING A POLICE STATE? FIVE THINGS THAT HAVE CIVIL LIBERTIES ADVOCATES NERVOUS BY SAL GENTILE