Post 9/11 we have seen the American government at all levels
use the threat of terrorism to justify targeting and harassing of the
citizenry. From the creation of the Homeland Security Department to the
incessant, Orwellian monitoring of every aspect of our lives, all levels of
government have exploited security fears to further their police state. There
were justifiable security concerns after that infamous day on September 11,
2001. Simple, common sense measures could have been taken at the time to fix
the glaring holes in our system. But politicians rarely miss an opportunity to
take advantage of a crisis. Seizing on a once in a lifetime opportunity,
Washington started down a dangerous path which still continues.
We have been mired in war since that day, the F.B.I. and N.S.A. have been relentless in their domestic spying, and our police have morphed into
a paramilitary group. Our politicians still play up the fear of terror to erode
away at our civil liberties. I am not one to dismiss the reality of potential
terror, but we cannot and should not model our government after that of
totalitarian China to sniff out any and all potential strife.
I don’t have much hope for us reversing this trend. Both
political parties love the newfound power that this affords them. The reality
is that there are many problems in this world that aren’t going anywhere soon
and we seemingly are content with incrementally sacrificing our freedom. When
in doubt, it is always a good idea to defer to Ben Franklin. To paraphrase one
of his most famous statements, if we sacrifice our freedoms and liberty for
security, we deserve neither.
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