Part of me wants to laugh...
... but the rest of me wants to cry and throw a hissy fit.
Congress is evidently poised to extend portions of the so-called "Patriot Act". Personally, I hate this sorry excuse for legislation with the same fury I direct at cameras and gun control; but therein lies my conflict.
One of my favorite quotations is:
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.
-Benjamin Franklin
What frustrates me is that most of America (and the "news" media, which I also despise) seems to understand what Franklin was saying when it comes to the Patriot Act, but they don't get it when the same perspective applies to surveillance cameras or gun control. I guess that's why part of me laughs while Congress runs roughshod over the non-gun-owning public. Welcome to the world of a gun owner, you wussies. This is how it feels to be a law-abiding citizen, but to be treated like a criminal-to-be.
All in the name of keeping you safe.
I'm certainly understating this, but the arguments for keeping the "Patriot Act" intact are the same ones used to endorse more cameras watching us and more laws restricting our right to own guns. Proponents say, "well, if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear. These laws will catch criminals, but will leave you alone" On the surface, that's totally true. The camera doesn't do anything to directly impact our liberties. A background check or retaining records of gun purchases doesn't directly impact my 2nd Amendment rights. And so what if Alberto Gonzales knows what books you checked out of the library last month? Big deal. The British live that way every day. Don't we all want to be safe and sophisticated like the Brits?
Actually, as most of America is ssslllloooowwwwwllllyy figuring out, it most certainly is a big deal. Now we see what happens when schools stop teaching "The Prince", "1984" and the like. We, as a society, jump on the idea that cameras and gun control keep us "safe", but we don't readily perceive the potential abuses down the road when you hand your government that much power on a silver platter. Gun control keeps you from the equalizing power of a firearm. The camera keeps tabs on you, robbing you of the privacy which is an essential element of your liberty. The "Patriot Act" does the same thing. It keeps tabs on you. See how this works? You give the government more power over you. Power corrupts .... remember that little phrase? Remember McCarthyism? (No, George Looney does NOT get it, so if you saw his crapola movie, get that little thought out of your head...)
Never mind that gun control and those damned cameras aren't really doing jack to keep you safe. Take just two examples: Oklahoma City and 9/11. Guns had nothing to do with either atrocity, and the perpetrators of both were seen on camera. Thousands died anyway. Safer, are 'ya? Are we expecting more from the Patriot Act?
So, when Congress re-authorizes these parts of that disgusting piece of crap legislation, I'd like to think the light (dim though it may be) will come on in the otherwise empty collective head of the ACLU (who won't defend our gun rights, and seem to think privacy only means the "right" to an abortion), the "news" media, and gun-fearing-wussy America. Gun control gives the government more power over you as a citizen. So do surveillance cameras. And so does the "Patriot Act". All should be despised and fought with equal fury, just as our forefathers intended. Otherwise, we end up British - powerless, constantly watched, stripped of the guns that allow us to protect ourselves, and bowing the knee to the very power which castrates us. The bad teeth and body odor can't be far behind. But at least we'll feel all smug, warm and fuzzy in our safety...
Where's the Tylenol?
Congress is evidently poised to extend portions of the so-called "Patriot Act". Personally, I hate this sorry excuse for legislation with the same fury I direct at cameras and gun control; but therein lies my conflict.
One of my favorite quotations is:
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.
-Benjamin Franklin
What frustrates me is that most of America (and the "news" media, which I also despise) seems to understand what Franklin was saying when it comes to the Patriot Act, but they don't get it when the same perspective applies to surveillance cameras or gun control. I guess that's why part of me laughs while Congress runs roughshod over the non-gun-owning public. Welcome to the world of a gun owner, you wussies. This is how it feels to be a law-abiding citizen, but to be treated like a criminal-to-be.
All in the name of keeping you safe.
I'm certainly understating this, but the arguments for keeping the "Patriot Act" intact are the same ones used to endorse more cameras watching us and more laws restricting our right to own guns. Proponents say, "well, if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear. These laws will catch criminals, but will leave you alone" On the surface, that's totally true. The camera doesn't do anything to directly impact our liberties. A background check or retaining records of gun purchases doesn't directly impact my 2nd Amendment rights. And so what if Alberto Gonzales knows what books you checked out of the library last month? Big deal. The British live that way every day. Don't we all want to be safe and sophisticated like the Brits?
Actually, as most of America is ssslllloooowwwwwllllyy figuring out, it most certainly is a big deal. Now we see what happens when schools stop teaching "The Prince", "1984" and the like. We, as a society, jump on the idea that cameras and gun control keep us "safe", but we don't readily perceive the potential abuses down the road when you hand your government that much power on a silver platter. Gun control keeps you from the equalizing power of a firearm. The camera keeps tabs on you, robbing you of the privacy which is an essential element of your liberty. The "Patriot Act" does the same thing. It keeps tabs on you. See how this works? You give the government more power over you. Power corrupts .... remember that little phrase? Remember McCarthyism? (No, George Looney does NOT get it, so if you saw his crapola movie, get that little thought out of your head...)
Never mind that gun control and those damned cameras aren't really doing jack to keep you safe. Take just two examples: Oklahoma City and 9/11. Guns had nothing to do with either atrocity, and the perpetrators of both were seen on camera. Thousands died anyway. Safer, are 'ya? Are we expecting more from the Patriot Act?
So, when Congress re-authorizes these parts of that disgusting piece of crap legislation, I'd like to think the light (dim though it may be) will come on in the otherwise empty collective head of the ACLU (who won't defend our gun rights, and seem to think privacy only means the "right" to an abortion), the "news" media, and gun-fearing-wussy America. Gun control gives the government more power over you as a citizen. So do surveillance cameras. And so does the "Patriot Act". All should be despised and fought with equal fury, just as our forefathers intended. Otherwise, we end up British - powerless, constantly watched, stripped of the guns that allow us to protect ourselves, and bowing the knee to the very power which castrates us. The bad teeth and body odor can't be far behind. But at least we'll feel all smug, warm and fuzzy in our safety...
Where's the Tylenol?
posted by Alpineman, RN at 1:42 PM
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