I know the original post was meant to entertain... and it did. But, it also got me thinking... sorry for the long post.
Amen. After 9/11 the French declared "now we are all Americans." A year and a half later, we resort to name calling and other childish antics like "freedom fries." Ever get the feeling that after 9/11 the country justed ached for a fight? I got into an argument with a friend once about Afghanistan. He didn't care about the facts. He kept repeating, "well, we have to do something!" What he couldn't and didn't want to understand was that every action comes with a consequence. There is a huge difference between doing something right and simply doing something for the sake of doing something. It's rather unfortunate, but his sentiment happened to be shared by most across the land. Now, just as I feared before troops were sent to Afghanistan, the whereabouts of Bin Laden is unclear and those within the US government who promised to capture those responsible have done everything they can to steer clear of the subject. One war was substituted by another in the name of "The War on Terror." A power vaccum has been created in the already troubled Middle East. Still no clear sign of WMDs. More uncertainty looms ahead with greater dangers. Meanwhile, life in America is no longer the same. My freedom has been restricted while Bin Laden's twisted quest continues on in some dark corner of the world somewhere. Ironic, but in many ways, the terrorists had won the moment they struck. Proponents of the admistrations hardline policies often use the good vs evil analogy to drum up support. To most, it makes perfect sense. But, they forget, evil can sometimes take the form of good. Is what looks and sounds good really good? I wish more of us would ask ourselves that when presented with propaganda. The political talkshow hosts spew out their spin on TV and the radio day after day... night after night. America this. America that. Constitution this. Constitution that. How many of them and how many of us who listen and applaud them have spent any time in reading the constitution? Chances are none of us have read a single word of it since leaving high school. Furthermore, for those who went to college, combine that with the fog of blissful drunkeness during those years... how much of the "law of the land" can any of us truly remember? Basically, it's too hard to remember and too much hassel to look up. So, we'll just take anyone's word for it as long as they appear to be in-the-know.Originally posted by WyrreJ
The USA was once the best hope this world had. But people like bin Laden and Ashcroft have worked hand in hand to set us back decades, and if things don't change soon, centuries. Instead of rising to the occassion and working to fix the problems of the day, so many people in the US have retreated into a mindless fear of the international world - blindly striking out at any perceived threat, real or imaginary. Where once we were a beacon to the world signifying freedom, we've become a country of cowards that no longer believes in the core values of our constitution. We, as a people, have decided to sacrifice the future of our own freedom for a false sense of security today. Our forefathers did not sacrifice their lives for our country to throw it all away for a little rhetoric and bluster on the part of some politicians who have more to gain through conflict than through peace and stability.
I wonder how many of us have stopped to think about what our "freedom" is doing in distant lands. Did it somehow slip out of the house unoticed one night and fly there atop a magic carpet? or did it walk? or was it dragged there against its will?Originally posted by WyrreJ
The truth is that freedom is never free, but the cost of freedom is not just the cost of our soldiers lives - nor 1000x that in Iraqi lives, it is equally the cost of the lives of those who died on 9-11. Freedom and risk go hand in hand, you can not have one without the other. The more we follow Ashcroft in the retreat from civil liberties and the more we follow Rumsfield and his circle of neocons away from a global consensus, the more we as a country lose what made us free. You can not protect our liberty by dismantling it.
Since the first entry in recorded human history (3500 BC Mesopotamia, and perhaps earlier) not much has changed. In every culture, race, religion, and country the previledged few continue to be the ones who are empowered to make decisions that the rest pay dearly for... and often with their meager fortunes and lives. I often think about what all of our soldiers died for. Was it really for my freedom? what's my freedom doing in countries other than the USA?
Is that why I can't take a flight without being hasseled? Is that why I have to accept growing restrictions for the sake of my safety? Is that why I should be concerned about what I say because I may end up on some government agency's watchlist? Is that why I can't park off the side of a highway to go fishing without getting a parking ticket (even though there were no posted signs) on top of all the fees I have already paid just to be able to enojoy fishing for one afternoon? Is that why my friend can't enjoy his 7 year old sports car (not even at the posted speed limit) simply because his car, in the officer's words, "looked fast"?
I guess maybe they are right. My freedom had left the country and I didn't even know it. Now, some untold number of people had to die so I could have it back (well, some of it). If it was 1942, I'd understand why people listen and gaze upon the government like an innocent child does upon his/her loving parents. But, it's 2003, and much had come to light about what governing bodies do to satisfy their own needs and ambitions (i.e. radiation experiments conducted on servicemen in the 50s, Agent Orange used in Vietnam, effects of Nicotine, genetically engineered foods, chemical and biological weapons reasearch and storeage...)
You know... I doubt our soldiers died for our freedom. More accurately, they died fighting for eachother and they died for the survival of the man/woman next to them on the battlefield. In that sense, they are heroes. However, to say they died for our freedom would almost cheapen the meaning of the word "freedom" in the way it is used in such references. Personally, I'd be ashamed to say that my freedom requires the sacrifice of another's life. Why should anyone but myself die for my freedom? I have no right to ask such a costly sacrifice of anyone for the sake of my freedom. Even if they had volunteered to take on that risk, I still wouldn't want them to make such a sacrifice in my place and in the name of my freedom. What IS this "freedom" I keep hearing of in the airwaves? Is one man's decision to go to war (which eventually costed our fallen their lives) this so called "freedom"? Freedom of one? Are hundreds and thousands of lives lost really worth the price of one man's previlidge to make and justify such a precious commitment? Are the lives worthy of this one person's assumed right to mold the world as he sees fit? I can only think of the lives lost and the potential impact on humanity they could have made otherwise.
Before becoming a US citizen, I was born and raised in a country where people dared not to be critical of the government. Those who did were known to quietly "disappear". It is only until recently, brought on by a changing of the guard, that people have found the courage to speak their minds. Furthermore, only less than 10 years ago did the government finally acknowledge a long kept state secret that hundreds of dissidents were executed (between 1950-1960) and were burried under what became a picturesque park in the middle of the capital city (where many families, mine included, spent many weekends). Imagine a park with pavilions, lilly ponds filled koi's, and 4 city blocks of lush green vegitation. Now think of the horrors that lay beneath the dirt. They died for freedom. The park's commission was only a part of the coverup. You may have seen members of this country's parliment brawling on the evening news and thought how stupid or comical it looked. I thought it was funny too when I saw it. It wasn't until after much thought that I realised they were fighting for freedom.
You're right freedom isn't free. And, to add to that, it shouldn't be carelessly used in political catch phrases... which we've all been hearing way too much of lately. How many lives does it take to boost a president's (any of them) or a government's rating in the polls? Have people forgotten what "freedom" really means? and what the founding fathers meant when they spoke of it? I wonder...
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