Carolyn Quinn--Reflections on "If I Disappear" by William Rivers Pitt
My friend Carolyn Quinn has contributed to this blog before. She is a gifted and insightful writer. Despite her Irish last name, fair skin and freckles, Carolyn was raised by her stepfather, a Japanese-American World War II veteran. That has given her a unique perspective on the threat to our civil liberties and constitutional government represented by the “compromise” bill adopted by the Senate to regulate the treatment of “enemy combatants,” define who falls into that status, and under what conditions they can be brought before military tribunals.
William Rivers Pitt has been a leading voice in opposition to the War in Iraq and a harsh critic of the Bush mal-administration. After the Senate action he posted In Case I Disappear on TRUTHOUT.ORG. This is Carolyn’s response to that article.
Carolyn is a tireless worker for peace and justice. She currently serves with distinction as the Secretary of the McHenry County Democratic Central Committee.
An oxymoron for you: Subjugation of the Constitution in the name of protecting American citizens. Hmm. And is it paranoid to worry that the president could consider even me a threat?
In the forties, there was an element of fear that Japanese immigrants along with American citizens of Japanese descent might become traitors to the US. There was also a desire on the part of white west coast farmers to be rid of the Japanese immigrant competition.
In June of ’43, Hirabayashi v. U.S. declared curfew laws imposed upon persons of Japanese ancestry constitutional.
In ‘44, FDR signed into legislation an order that allowed the US Army to determine who might become a possible threat, round them up and forcibly remove them from their homes, with no accusation of a crime, no evidence of a crime, no talk or thought of a crime. The order was planned as a preventive move, and approved by Congress.
In December of ’44, Korematsu v. U.S. ruled Japanese American evacuation order (Executive Order 9066) constitutional.
All the “Japs” were taken from California and placed in prison camps, excuse me, relocation camps. They were legally stripped of home and all property, never to have it returned. Elderly, children, teens, babies - born on American soil, schooled in American schools, speaking American English: all were a “threat,” and had to be removed.
Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties act of 1988, which allowed an apology and symbolic redress to the victims of Executive Order 9066 who were still alive. Restitution was sent to those victims in order of age. I have in my hands a letter from George H.W. Bush from October of 1990, in which he apologizes on behalf of the United States of America, for the travesty of stripping citizens and immigrants, such as my dad and his family, of their rights. It was accompanied by a 20,000 dollar check to my stepfather. I quote from it:
A monetary sum and words alone cannot restore lost years or erase painful memories; neither can they fully convey our Nation’s resolve to rectify injustice and to uphold the rights of individuals. We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.
In enacting a law calling for restitution and offering a sincere apology, your fellow Americans have, in a very real sense, renewed their traditional commitment to the ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. You and your family have our best wishes for the future.
- George Bush, President of the United States
Well. I want to know what our past president has to say right now about our resolve to uphold the rights of individuals.
I spent my whole life hearing stories from those WWII days and those American Citizen prisoners-of-war who were never accused of a crime, nor granted legal representation, nor ever saw a courtroom. I have always known that I would take preventative action if necessary within whatever power and influence I could muster, to stop my country from doing any such similar thing again. A Hawaiian general (HI was not a state yet at the time and had no representation in Congress) refused to comply with the army order to detain all the Japanese in Hawaii. It didn’t happen there. But it did happen in California, Oregon and Washington. Relocation camps were built and operated in other states as well by the Department of Justice. Barbed wire fences, pacing guards with rifles…
September ’06 “…The broad powers given to Bush by this legislation allow him to capture, indefinitely detain, and refuse a hearing to any American citizen who speaks out against Iraq or any other part of the so-called ‘War on Terror.’"-William Rivers Pitt.
George W. Bush may claim that he has the right to determine if I am a “threat” to country and act accordingly. The Senate and the House may acquiesce. But in doing so, they deny our commitment to the ideals of freedom, equality and justice. They deny our spirit, our ideals, our dream. They deny the deepest meaning of what it means to be a citizen, whether an immigrant or no. They deny the fact that they exist to represent us. They cast a blight upon our place in history.
George W. Bush may indeed determine that I am an “enemy combatant.” To the extent to which he believes he is the state, he is correct, for I stand opposed to him especially while he holds that belief and continues to undermine the Constitution.
“If you write a letter to the editor attacking Bush, you could be deemed as purposefully and materially supporting hostilities against the United States. If you organize or join a public demonstration against Iraq, or against the administration, the same designation could befall you. One dark-comedy aspect of the legislation is that senators or House members who publicly disagree with Bush, criticize him, or organize investigations into his dealings could be placed under the same designation’.-William Rivers Pitt.
Uh-oh. That’s me.
But I don’t count on disappearing, for gosh sakes.
I always wondered if I would have the guts to foil a governmental action that was designed to allow the arrest of other people without just cause. Like the Hawaiian general, and the people who hid Jews like Anne Frank. I just always wondered. It never (really!) occurred to me that I should wonder if I would have the guts to deal with it if I myself was targeted as an enemy of state. Unfathomable.
If the authorities came to get me, I couldn’t really count on being able to defend myself legally in today’s climate. I couldn’t count on a single phone call, could I?.
So if that were to happen, someone call Sen. Daniel Inouye for me. I think Inouye would get it. No point making the plan to call Sen, Durbin. He’d probably be detained without redress too…
Which leads me to ask myself another question: If I ever found myself in such a situation, would I lay my life on the line to fight for my country even after being treated in such a way? My dad did. [Carolyn's father, like so many Nisei including Sen. Inouye, served with distinction in the Army in Europe during World War II with the most decorated army unit of the war, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team] So did all his brothers and buddies. And they did it for 3 reasons:
· To prove that they really are good Americans
· To fight the war that would END ALL WARS
· And to protect the right to citizenship for all their families into the future. It’s too hard to know what I would do in such a situation. But I certainly hope that my actions would be based on all that I’ve learned from their story. I hope that I, too, would valiantly “Go for Broke.” [The motto the 442nd.]
I believe it is my responsibility and obligation:
· To protest unnecessary war.
· To prove by my actions that I, too, am a good American.
· To protect civil liberties of all: Japanese Americans, Irish American, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Muslim Americans, Immigrant Americans. All of us. Just Americans.
--Carolyn Quinn
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