We have armed police on the corners. To keep us safe ? To constantly show the force of the brother bigger than the man ? Whatever the reason, it brings back childhood memories of facists regimes seen on TV, the fear people living in regions where the military is visible everyday face, and how it could never happen here. It happened in the last four years.
We have "free speech zones" now. Regulation and freedom are not the same thing, more of opposites really. Free speech zones are a nice way of getting mug shots of people who are not on board with the government keeping tabs on them. I had to sign a paper saying I waive my right to free thought and free speach to keep my job. I didn't have to sign such a thing four years ago.
They have put cameras and microphones on some of the buildings on my street. You would think that in a "free" country someone could walk to the store without having the trip documented by the government. It is not possible on my block, which happens to be in a country that is spreading it's "freedom" around the world. Perhaps we should beef up the reserves of freedom at home before we go exporting it.
Any person on American soil can be held indefinately and without explanation. The legal system designed to protect the citizens of this country is now an illusion. We no longer have the right to
- know for what crimes we are being charged
a trial by jury of peers
talk to a lawyer
not be tortured
We are told to be in constant fear of an enemy that we will never defeat, and will perpetually be at war with. Sometimes the name of the enemy changes, but it's the same war. People accept the change without question. Bush is seen as strong on terror, and able to make america safer because he doesn't flip flop. Bush picks a goal and gets to it. UNfortunately the opposite has been true. While I may be one of the few people who didn't support the Afghanistan war, it was at least against a terrorist group that had connections with the Saudi hijackers. Bush didn't finish this war. He didn't get Osama Bin Laden after announcing that his capture was the number one priority of the government. He didn't remove the taliban from the ruling power of the country. He didn't liberate Afghani women as he pretended too. Instead, he got distracted by a "ruthless dictator" who was an "imminent threat" and could bring the "mushroom cloud" to American soil. This was of course all lies, and was Bush being distracted. Bush changed course in the middle of making America safer to persue a personal vendetta against a country that was no threat to the USA. This is not steadfast leadership in a time of peril. This is the government changing the enemy in the middle of the war, and the people not even noticing we are fighting a different power.
There may be two less terrorist regimes at the olympic games, but there is a new rogue superpower that brings more terrorist together than any propaganda the terrorist have ever made up. Afghanistan and Iraq were not a threat to global stability, but they are now. America wasn't a threat to global stability, but we are now. It has not been a good for years for freedom in the world. To continue to let the drunk drive after crashing the economy, the constitution, and the reputation of America would be a tragedy for the globe.
The Average American highschool graduate can't find America on the map, but they can be drafted in a woefully ignorant state to defend that country. I don't have much hope for the future.