Lynn Stuter -- The Slippery Slope

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

By Lynn Stuter

December 27, 2005

NewsWithViews.com

Driving down the road the other day, searching on my car radio for a station reporting weather conditions as it was raining out and freezing at the same time, I came across Tony Snow discussing with a female guest the recent revelation that President Bush had authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on American citizens post-9/11. Snow and his female guest saw no problem with this, claiming that conservatives support their president.

First of all, no true conservative would ever support President Bush�s actions. Not in a million years. Neo-cons, people who claim to be conservative but aren�t � and those falling into the category of the controlled opposition, now that�s a different story.

People like Tony Snow who think President Bush�s actions are somehow justified in the name of keeping the American people �safe� in post-9/11 America are na�ve and display a decided lack of historical perspective.

All the American people need do, to see how preposterous this claim is, is to look north and look south, at the open borders to Canada and Mexico. In so doing, it is obvious the American people are no safer today than they were on or before 9/11.

Crossing the border from Canada and Mexico into the United States are thousands of illegal aliens, on a daily basis. No one is screening those illegal aliens; no one, including the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration, knows how many criminals and terrorists are among those who have crossed those open borders.

Almost daily now, we hear of yet another illegal alien arrested for committing a crime in the United States. Most of these crimes are not petty crimes but fall in the realm of brutal homicide. It is ignorant to believe, given the number of illegal alien criminals who have crossed the open borders, that terrorists have not entered this country in the same manner.

It was not long ago that three terrorists were actually caught trying to cross illegally from Mexico into the United States. We didn�t hear about it on the main-stream media. We had to learn of it through internet sources other than the main-stream media. Why was that? Why didn�t the mainstream media report on those three terrorists caught at the border with Mexico?

Could it be because such would obviously clue the American people to the fact that the Patriot Act is not a law to protect the American people but another law to take away the rights and freedoms of the American people?

It would appear so. Repeatedly we hear the mainstream media inserting the clip in the local media broadcast from some airline passenger gushing about how the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) screeners are there, and they don�t mind the inconvenience of being searched and having their luggage searched, so they will be �safe.� These people delude themselves in the face of the reality that the TSA screeners themselves have been shown sorely lacking in the integrity department.

Granted an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However when the preventative measures infringe on the rights of law-abiding Americans, they are not preventive; they move America one step closer to a police state.

In the words of John Locke, �The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.�

This should be the measuring stick of every law passed in this country � does it preserve and enlarge freedom or does it abolish or restrain the rights of law-abiding citizens?

Quite obviously, the Patriot Act and all the rest of the �measures to ensure our safety� in post-9/11 America fall into the category of abolishing and restraining � to take away the rights and freedoms of the law-abiding American citizens.

But Americans have been desensitized to the lose of their rights � gradually people have become inured to the idea that the government will take care of their every need, keep them safe, that the government is there in their best interests. The list of laws falling into this genre is too long to list.

Prior to 9/11, even 100 years ago, America had the mechanism needed to deal with any terrorist entering or committing crimes in this country. That mechanism is called rule by law.

But when we have a judicial system that is not about rule by law but about rule by man according to his own passions and prejudices (democracy), the result is what we are seeing: more and more laws intended to keep people �safe� but that, in reality, further infringe on the rights and freedom of law-abiding citizens while doing nothing to impede the criminal. Whatever the intent, such laws have placed America on the slippery slope to a police state.

Now we have President Bush adamantly and angrily proclaiming his right to authorize illegal wire taps of American citizens in the name of �safety.� Ask yourself this � if Bush can do this today, in the name of keeping Americans safe, what can and will he do tomorrow?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Trying to justify Bush�s actions in the name of keeping Americans safe is not only ignorant and misplaced, but dangerous.

What follows is an e-mail sent to President Bush, cc�d to my Washington State Senators and Representative. It is our duty to let our voices be heard.

To: president@whitehouse.gov

Cc: Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Representative Cathy McMorris

Dear President Bush,

As we near the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, claims that you are a born-again Christian somehow wring hollow. What Christian would make the remarks concerning the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights that you have reportedly made? The Constitution of the United States is not simply a piece of paper, this was a document hotly debated by very learned men; that was constructed to ensure the American people the greatest amount of freedom to govern themselves. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights came out of the blood of those who fought and died to end the tyranny of England.

If, as it has been reported, you spoke of this founding document in such disparaging terms, such in my mind is an act of treason.

I find it commendable that you finally owned up to going into Iraq waving the flag of false pretenses. Saddam Hussein is a dictator? That doesn�t fall within your jurisdiction, President Bush. America had and has no business in Iraq. If the Iraqi people did not like Saddam Hussein it was their place to get rid of him, not ours. We have no business in Iraq and you had no business sending American troops into that country. Now that we are there you have no qualms about the lives lost there in the name of saving face; your face.

You speak of the �safety of America�. You insult our intelligence, Mr President. The American people are watching as illegal aliens of every sort and description, criminals and terrorists included, cross our open borders, north and south, on a daily basis. Yet you have done nothing meaningful to staunch the flow. If you have no credibility when it comes to speaking of safety in post-9/11 America, you need look no further than the mirror. If more Americans die because you have failed to secure our borders, the fault is yours and yours alone.

Last week it was disclosed that you have allowed the unauthorized wire tapping of American citizens. You say this is for �our safety.� Again, Mr President, those open borders belie that claim.

We need the Patriot Act to protect our freedoms? No we don�t. The Patriot Act hasn�t and won�t stop one terrorist from crossing those open borders � north or south. All the Patriot Act does is stomp on the rights of law-abiding American citizens.

With all due respect, personally, Mr President, I find your actions with regard to 9/11, Iraq, the borders, the wire taps, personally offensive. History has repeatedly demonstrated that a people willing to give up their rights for security will, in the end, lose both.

Subscribe to the NewsWithViews Daily News Alerts!

Enter Your E-Mail Address:

Our country is not safer, for all the speechifying and anger coming out of your office, than it was on or before 9/11. Our country is, however, a whole lot closer to a police state.

If you are the Christian you proclaim to be, it would behoove you to spend a lot more time on your knees seeking God�s guidance and forgiveness.

Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts

Mother and wife, Stuter has spent the past ten years researching systems theory with a particular emphasis on education. She home schooled two daughters, now grown and on their own. She has worked with legislators, both state and federal, on issues pertaining to systems governance and education reform. She networks nationwide with other researchers and citizens concerned with the transformation of our nation. She has traveled the United States and lived overseas.

Web site: www.learn-usa.com

E-Mail: lmstuter@learn-usa.com�

Home