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June 1, 2006 It was James Madison who once wrote, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” He also worried that a government controlled by one party could never fully control its ambitions. It appears that Madison’s prophecies have come true. The American government, in supporting the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, detention of American citizens without trial or legal representation, and searches of private homes without court order, has abandoned the principles of the Constitution and the rule of law. In an attempt to protect liberty, men and women of both parties are slowly snapping the spine of those freedoms they claim to value. Yet Americans repeatedly vote for these politicians in staggering numbers. They cheer on the politicizing of tragedy in the dozens of references to September 11th peppered throughout speeches; they block criticism from their minds and brand it as traitorous to question; they justify the unjustifiable offenses against the Constitution. The blood of the Founding Fathers is on their hands. Through their silent obedience and unquestioning support of men over law, the American voters have become the willing executioners of their own liberty. Perhaps they don’t even know they are doing it. After all, they were just following the orders of the president. If the USA PATRIOT Act takes away the need for a warrant to search the home of an American, it is justified as being absolutely necessary to defend the homeland. When Jose Padilla, an American citizen, was arrested without charge and held for years in a naval brig without a trial, a lawyer, or any family contact, Americans assured themselves it was all for a good cause. Now the government of the United States of America has said that citizens have no right to privacy – book records, private phone calls, credit card purchase history and bank statements are up for grabs – and obliviously on we march. Isn’t it true, though, that if they have done nothing wrong, they have nothing to hide? It is a comforting illusion, but that is all. Nothing is more un-American than the idea that someone is guilty until proven innocent, though this is how these offenses are increasingly justified. Opening the doors to unlimited government power, as James Madison saw, only invites abuse of that power. What would stop a politician in the near future from wiretapping the phones and searching the home of a political opponent, all in the name of security? Sound unlikely? President Richard Nixon had the gall to do it back when it was still a crime. Now that these offenses to the Constitution have been given the blessing of Congress, what ethical line prevents it? Just as patriots have stood in defense of our Constitution against threats from abroad, now patriots must defend it against threats from within. The Constitution stands sacrosanct above all men, no matter how high their elected office. No politician in Washington is above the Constitution. That it is being surrendered so silently by the descendents of men and women who once paid in blood to defend it ought to shame every true American. To allow these atrocities of law and liberty to go on unchecked invites the worst kind of men to take advantage of the people for their own gain. That must not happen at any cost. Some may think nothing is wrong in this country. They may be willing to march off the cliff in search of protection from a shadow enemy. They would do well to keep in mind that fanatical allegiance to any man, whether he is the President of the United States or not, is against everything this nation stands for. It is our job as citizens to defend our sacred Constitution from any person who seeks to undermine it, especially by using fear and patriotism to coerce others to follow. If we do not defend our laws, the day will come when future generations grow up ignorant of the rights generations once laid down their lives for. Those rights will simply cease to be, crushed under the weight of unlimited government power. It is as John Adams once said to Thomas Jefferson, “We are a nation of laws, not of men.” Men may fail, or grow corrupt and ambitious, but laws survive. ------------ About the author: Max Burns is a 19-year-old moderate Democrat from Indianapolis. He has been moved from the Hoosier Heartland to the moral void that is Washington D.C. to study Government & International Politics at George Mason University. He is also the author of the fantasy novel Alcardia. Email: mburns6@gmu.edu Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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