[Mb-civic] Fwd: Americans Surrendering Liberties: Shades Of German History

[reute]

>>>> Info to spread and protest. This is not a good thing.
>>>>
>>>> Americans Surrendering Liberties: Shades Of German History
>>>>  By Chuck Baldwin
>>>> August 23, 2005
>>>>
>>>>  It appears that a strengthened U.S.A. Patriot Act will soon sail
>>>>  through Congress with little opposition or consternation on the  
>>>> part
>>>>  of the American people. The new Patriot Act is even more
>>>>  stringent than the original. In addition, many of the more  
>>>> egregious
>>>>  elements of the Patriot Act which were originally scheduled to
>>>>  sunset are made permanent in the latest version. And the vast
>>>>  majority of the American people do not seem to mind.
>>>>
>>>>  For one thing, Americans seem to have accepted the notion that
>>>>  they must rely on the federal government to take care of them.  
>>>> Lost
>>>>  to most is an independent, self-reliant spirit. After all,  
>>>> Americans
>>>>  already look to Uncle Sam for food stamps, welfare payments,
>>>>  commercial and farm subsidies, and faith-based handouts; why
>>>>  should they object to the federal government's promise to now
>>>>  provide their complete security even if it does mean the  
>>>> sacrifice of
>>>>  their liberties? To most Americans, security seems much more
>>>>  valuable than freedom!
>>>>
>>>>  It is incumbent upon each of us to remember that this is  
>>>> exactly the
>>>>  way Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party took control in Germany.
>>>>  They did not seize power by force; the German people happily
>>>>  gave them power on the promise of national security.
>>>>
>>>>  Since 9/11, even those Americans who in the past have
>>>>  championed freedom and independence now demonstrate an
>>>>  obvious readiness to gladly yield their liberties. It does not  
>>>> seem to
>>>>  matter one iota that they are losing their right of privacy and  
>>>> their
>>>>  right to be secure in their own homes.
>>>>
>>>>  When told that the Patriot Act is practically a carbon copy of
>>>>  Hitler's Enabling Act, most Americans either yawn with
>>>>  indifference or retort with disbelief. They seem to be  
>>>> oblivious to
>>>>  reality.
>>>>
>>>>  For some, their personal support for President Bush will not allow
>>>>  them to look objectively at the details of his Patriot Act (or
>>>>  virtually anything else he does). They truly don't want to believe
>>>>  that Bush could ever promote something untoward. Yet, was this
>>>>  not the same reasoning used by the German people in the 1930's?
>>>>  They loved and trusted Hitler so much, they could not bring
>>>>  themselves to believe that anything he did could be wrong.
>>>>
>>>>  Americans need to reread the principles expressed by their
>>>>  Founding Fathers. Specific to the topic, Thomas Jefferson rightly
>>>>  said, "In questions of power, then, let no more be said of
>>>>  confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains
>>>>  of the Constitution." It would seem many Americans today no
>>>>  longer believe that.
>>>>
>>>>  For others, the fact that they do not believe themselves to  
>>>> have yet
>>>>  been personally affected by the new Gestapo-like powers given to
>>>>  the executive branch by the Patriot Act gives them a sense of
>>>>  (false) peace. Their attitude is usually expressed by statements
>>>>  such as, "Well, if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have
>>>>  anything to fear." Of course, such thinking is extremely naïve and
>>>>  short-sighted.
>>>>
>>>>  Our entire way of life is predicated upon the conviction that  
>>>> we are
>>>>  presumed innocent of any wrongdoing and only by a substantiated
>>>>  and cumbersome process of discovery and prosecution can that
>>>>  assumption be taken away from us. The Patriot Act totally reverses
>>>>  that historic principle.
>>>>
>>>>  Now Americans are presumed to be guilty of wrongdoing and
>>>>  mechanisms are in place to begin the process of proving it; and,
>>>>  furthermore, the discovery portion of this process may now be
>>>>  done under cover of darkness and secrecy. Gone is the
>>>>  presumption of innocence. Under the Patriot Act, gone is the right
>>>>  to an attorney. Gone is the right to habeas corpus. Gone is the  
>>>> right
>>>>  to a speedy trial. Gone is the right to be secure in your  
>>>> papers and
>>>>  effects. The Patriot Act is turning America into a Nazi-style  
>>>> police
>>>>  state. And that is not hyperbole!
>>>>
>>>>  Furthermore, Americans need to wake up to the reality that there
>>>>  already exists a gargantuan effort afoot to put a military-style
>>>>  federal apparatus in place. For example, according to syndicated
>>>>  columnist Charley Reese, "In recent years, federal law
>>>>  enforcement has expanded to the point where there is now an
>>>>  equivalent of five military divisions armed and invested with the
>>>>  power to make arrests." And this does not include the fact that
>>>>  certain of our military and C.I.A. personnel are also being  
>>>> trained
>>>>  and instructed in domestic law enforcement. Can people not see
>>>>  the writing on the wall?
>>>>
>>>>  Another thing people need to think about is the definition of
>>>>  "wrongdoing." The argument that, "If you haven't done anything
>>>>  wrong, you don't have anything to worry about" loses its
>>>>  legitimacy when "the powers that be" can alter what "wrong" is at
>>>>  will.
>>>>
>>>>  The Patriot Act so loosely defines "terrorism" that virtually  
>>>> anyone
>>>>  or anything could be considered "an act of terrorism" including
>>>>  speech! Plus, Bush lovers need to remember that Dubya will not be
>>>>  president forever. They need to think about the likes of Hillary
>>>>  Clinton or Janet Reno interpreting and enforcing the Patriot Act!
>>>>
>>>>  Then again, we have to consider that there is a sizeable  
>>>> percentage
>>>>  of the American people who have already surrendered their
>>>>  liberties as a state of mind. They have been successfully
>>>>  programmed to accept any and all government fetters. In their
>>>>  minds, they are already slaves to the state! After all, freedom is
>>>>  first a matter of the heart.
>>>>
>>>>  The bottom line is, in the name of safety and security, the
>>>>  American people, as did the people of Germany in the 1930's, are
>>>>  willingly surrendering their liberties. One more 9/11-style attack
>>>>  will probably mean the end of whatever freedom is left. And sadly,
>>>>  the vast majority of the American people will probably be ok with
>>>>  that, as well.
>>>>
>>>>  At the end of the day, however, the loss of freedom will not bring
>>>>  America peace and safety. Instead, destruction and tyranny will
>>>>  result. A simple look at German history proves that.
>>>>
>>>>  Of course, America's founders rejected tyrannical government.
>>>>  However, it appears that many of today's Americans share more in
>>>>  common with German history than with their own.
>>>>
>>>>  © Chuck Baldwin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>