The War on Terrorism & Homeland Security

The war on terrorism has had it’s great and terrible consequences. We took down a dictator who slaughtered his own people. (Of course, sidestepping the fact we supported him prior to the first Gulf War.) We’ve hunted down and captured many Al-Qaeda operatives, and managed to thin their numbers down. (Of course, there were many innocent people whose rights were trampled while getting at these terrorists.) And while it’s made us all more aware of our surroundings, suggesting that we seal up our homes with duct tape and plastic sheeting has made many people with paranoiac tendencies go over the edge.

Homeland Security, the foundation of the War on Terrorism, the deeper you look, appears to be a move for more governmental control. The people who run this country – people WE voted in – believe, somehow, that we are better off giving up our freedoms than compromising our security. I disagree. Every year all the averages of crime and the environmental situation, and other statistics get BETTER, and somehow these idiots work up more paranoia and fear and budgetary allocations and backing for more bills to remove yet more rights. Fact is, yes, while there are chances that an opening may happen and allow a terrorist attack like that one, even 9/11’s casualties, while horrific, were a tiny fraction of the average war, or even a small blip when compared to accidental deaths by automotive collisions! So, how can these people feel justified in taking away our rights? They want to “close any loopholes in the system” that could let terrorists in unnoticed. But that puts all of US – the citizens of the US of A – under constant scrutiny, and so while becoming more secure from outside attackers, we’re more open to manipulation and invasive investigation by our own government. And aren’t they supposed to be working for US? The government of the people, by the people, for the people? Yet this government is invading the privacy and affairs of those very people who they are supposed to protect and serve. Speaking of protect and serve, the police have been given sweeping new rights under the Homeland Security act, rights that are directly contrary to those given to us by our constitution. So why do we allow this? Apathy. Paranoia. The belief that because someone is in power, they know best. This is not the case. These people sometimes are no more knowledgeable than you or I, and sometimes far more corrupt. It’s time to say no to these people and their ideas. It’s time to take back the country. Know someone who’s honest, upstanding, and fairly intelligent? Nominate them for a position in the next election. Convince them that they are needed and that they can make a difference. If enough people do this, and enough people vote, we can make the changes that need to be made, and get back the rights that the recent administrations have seen fit to remove. Only we, the people, can insure our own rights.

We, the peopleâÂ?¦ We, the people who are in those first three words of the Constitution. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, need to re-establish REAL justice and insure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense without limiting the rights given so shortly thereafter in the amendments to the Constitution. They were passed for a reason. The early leaders saw the issues with NOT having those rights protected. When they weren’t, people took advantage of this. Well, the government has found a new way around this: pass laws that remove them without saying they are removing them. Don’t fall for it. Fight back. Make a change and a difference. This is not about Terrorism at all; it’s about the balance of power. Originally the checks and balances existed to keep the government doing what it should. It’s broken. The government has all the power, and the people are losing theirs. Fix it.

I don’t care whether you’re left-wing, right-wing, or somewhere near center, like myselfâÂ?¦ What I do care about is that the government, who was initially only there to run our interstate commerce, international commerce, national-level defense, and courts, now seeks to control things that were never theirs to control. The Constitution states that anything not mentioned in it is to be left to the States and to the people. Yet the constitution does not mention abortion, drugs, sex, farming, welfare, social security, or medical care. And yet, the federal government sticks its nose into all those things and more. For example, medical marijuana. California and other states have passed laws allowing marijuana for medical use. The feds still bust people for having it in California. Why? Control. They want their power. Now, even some things that ARE mentioned in the Constitution and its amendments as things to be preserved and protected – even THOSE are being taken. Guns. Sure we don’t need high-powered machine guns around the streets, but banning all of them outright? We do have a right to self-defense, and a gun enables that. Even if you have to have a quick-release trigger lock or some kind of biometric lock, we should be allowed to have them. Freedom of the press? They are made to tell sources nearly daily now, and people who write for online publications such as blogs are being told now that they are NOT journalists. I would beg to differ. Their points and views are just as valid, and if they are told something anonymously then they should be allowed to keep their source anonymous. Freedom of speech – this is being attacked constantly through censorship. I say, make parents do their job and keep their kids away from the things that contain things they don’t want them to see/hear/read/do. It’s called parenting. Watch your kid when they watch TV or use the ‘net. Check out what they’re listening to. It’s not government’s JOB to make all the world safe for everyone – it’s only their job to keep outsiders that want to kill us or take our land OUT. To go to war when we are threatened. Not to take away those protected and precious things from us that were granted way back in the 1800’s because intelligent people could see that without those, no one is truly free. We are no longer truly free. Our freedoms is regularly chewed away, bit by bit, and one day, if we do nothing, we won’t have any left. Fight back and change the system. It’s time to move beyond the present and get back our rights. One move of the founders with which I disagree is the Electoral College. This system is also broken. We need a popular vote. Direct voting of, by, and for the people. Fight back. Nominate and vote in good people who believe in individual freedom. The closest thing I’ve seen to this is the LibertariansâÂ?¦ and even they aren’t perfect. But who cares about political parties. If you want to be free, then we need centrists in government. No more right-wingers making laws based on their religious beliefs, and no more left-wingers making them based on their emotions. We need people who aren’t swayed by either of those views. Objective people. If you can be objective, run for office. We need you. If you can’t but know people who can, nominate and vote for them. And tell your friends about them and get them to vote for them. Make a change. We all can. If we just do it.