Why?
"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." Thomas Jefferson
A citizen is vigilant against the abuses of its government. To be vigilant one must be aware. If mainstream news doesn't broadcast the abuses, threats to the freedom of speech, to the protection against unlawful search and seizure... the application of police state abuses then who do you turn to? The citizens who choose to put themselves out to videotape abuses are being stifled and arrested.
It reminds me of a story once told to me about how the South only looks pretty because some of the racist crap doesn't ever make the news, that killings still occur but it just doesn't get reported. While it is reprehesible that individuals are dying in such a fashion and the world is unaware, it is also abhorent that the very people whose job it is to provide a balance to the news, the non-sanctioned reporter without the santized edited versions are being stiffled.
What is the line between eternal vigilance required to protect the Constitution and opposing the interests of a government? When is the defense of the Constitution considered opposing the interests of a government? We can now separate how we feel about the wars we are fighting from the warriors themselves, a giant leap from the attitudes towards the citizens sent to Vietnam. If policies put in place by a few members of government violate the consititution then can we not separate the government from those human beings? The Constitution of the United States is a wonderful document and the government of the United States is a powerful and functional system but like the military it can be misused and given unlawful commands. I am a patriot, I love the freedoms provided by the Constitution and this government provided me the opportunities that made me who I am. There are aspects that we can add from other countries to better ourselves but I feel that there is no reason to consider destroying such a magnificent and useful creation.
The funny thing is I think of our government as a Christian feels about his religion in regards to evolution. Our government is a creature who breeds and changes under the direction of sentient beings. If those beings are selfish and seek only to use it for their own ends, it is caged and force fed and mechanically milked resulting in an unhappy and terrified beast. If the beings are benevolent and seek to better the life of the country and the people in it, they allow it free range, to discover its own boundaries and make its own mistakes. So long as it stays true to the fabulous document that is the Constitution then it will always have a home in my heart.
Consider the idea of a farm, where we all live within the boundaries of the rough wooden fence. We choose who runs the farm, who maintains the fence and ensures that all within remain healthy. The government is the working dogs who pull the small carts, who guide the sheep and cows, protect the hen house and patrol the boundaries. If you have friendly useful dogs who cheerfully protect us from without, who are taught to respect all members of the farm then it is good. If you have attack dogs who maintain the status quo where the farmer reaps the spoils and refuses to support the rest of the population then it is bad. The farmer directs and controls the dogs but we control the farmer, our representatives are required to ignore the attack dogs and support the populace.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/31/raids/
domestic = existing or occurring inside a country, not foreign or international
enemy = someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else; a hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation; an alliance of such forces
"...that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;..." Excerpt from the Oath of Enlistment for U.S. Armed Forces.
Amendment 1 - Freed of Religion, Press, Expression.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A citizen is vigilant against the abuses of its government. To be vigilant one must be aware. If mainstream news doesn't broadcast the abuses, threats to the freedom of speech, to the protection against unlawful search and seizure... the application of police state abuses then who do you turn to? The citizens who choose to put themselves out to videotape abuses are being stifled and arrested.
It reminds me of a story once told to me about how the South only looks pretty because some of the racist crap doesn't ever make the news, that killings still occur but it just doesn't get reported. While it is reprehesible that individuals are dying in such a fashion and the world is unaware, it is also abhorent that the very people whose job it is to provide a balance to the news, the non-sanctioned reporter without the santized edited versions are being stiffled.
What is the line between eternal vigilance required to protect the Constitution and opposing the interests of a government? When is the defense of the Constitution considered opposing the interests of a government? We can now separate how we feel about the wars we are fighting from the warriors themselves, a giant leap from the attitudes towards the citizens sent to Vietnam. If policies put in place by a few members of government violate the consititution then can we not separate the government from those human beings? The Constitution of the United States is a wonderful document and the government of the United States is a powerful and functional system but like the military it can be misused and given unlawful commands. I am a patriot, I love the freedoms provided by the Constitution and this government provided me the opportunities that made me who I am. There are aspects that we can add from other countries to better ourselves but I feel that there is no reason to consider destroying such a magnificent and useful creation.
The funny thing is I think of our government as a Christian feels about his religion in regards to evolution. Our government is a creature who breeds and changes under the direction of sentient beings. If those beings are selfish and seek only to use it for their own ends, it is caged and force fed and mechanically milked resulting in an unhappy and terrified beast. If the beings are benevolent and seek to better the life of the country and the people in it, they allow it free range, to discover its own boundaries and make its own mistakes. So long as it stays true to the fabulous document that is the Constitution then it will always have a home in my heart.
Consider the idea of a farm, where we all live within the boundaries of the rough wooden fence. We choose who runs the farm, who maintains the fence and ensures that all within remain healthy. The government is the working dogs who pull the small carts, who guide the sheep and cows, protect the hen house and patrol the boundaries. If you have friendly useful dogs who cheerfully protect us from without, who are taught to respect all members of the farm then it is good. If you have attack dogs who maintain the status quo where the farmer reaps the spoils and refuses to support the rest of the population then it is bad. The farmer directs and controls the dogs but we control the farmer, our representatives are required to ignore the attack dogs and support the populace.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/31/raids/
domestic = existing or occurring inside a country, not foreign or international
enemy = someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else; a hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation; an alliance of such forces
"...that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;..." Excerpt from the Oath of Enlistment for U.S. Armed Forces.
Amendment 1 - Freed of Religion, Press, Expression.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.