Bear Arms while You Still have the Chance
What happened to the rebellious Patriot spirit that preferred death to government intrusion into one’s personal liberties? The US Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they could see what we’ve so easily given up post 9/11. This is a serious situation that, if not corrected, will lay waste to the founding principles we all hold dear.
The FBI admits that it used ‘national security letters’ to improperly obtain “telephone logs, banking records and other personal records on thousands of Americans from 2003 to 2005.”[1] Actually, the FBI issued over 150,000 national security letters from 2003 to 2005. Alarmingly, these incidents are not the only violation of our liberties. The government maintains secret courts that issue orders without proper oversight from people who value citizens’ liberties.
I liken this to the story about the frog and boiling water. If you drop a frog into a boiling pot of water, it will immediately recognize the threat and jump out. If you place a frog into a cool pot and slowly heat it to a rolling boil, the frog will sit unaware until it is fully cooked. As a generation that witnessed 9/11, we did not imagine the lasting repercussions of the Patriot Act when it was quickly passed to protect American citizens. One could easily argue that drastic measures were necessary at the time, and as someone that watched two towers fall in my City, I can honestly say the situation demanded an equivocally deliberate response. I argue now that, like the frog, we did not notice the fire someone turned on below us.
Now that the dust has settled and we have had a chance to read and measure the full impact of the Patriot Act, it is obvious that it is simply un-American document. It contradicts everything we value as a country. What rights do we have left now that they have taken away our privacy? Can we still bear arms? I’d recommend stocking up because many government agencies can now walk into your home at any time without reason under the guise of ‘national security’.
I urge you to contact your Senator and/or Congressperson and demand they fix our system to protect your privacy.
What happened to the rebellious Patriot spirit that preferred death to government intrusion into one’s personal liberties? The US Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they could see what we’ve so easily given up post 9/11. This is a serious situation that, if not corrected, will lay waste to the founding principles we all hold dear.
The FBI admits that it used ‘national security letters’ to improperly obtain “telephone logs, banking records and other personal records on thousands of Americans from 2003 to 2005.”[1] Actually, the FBI issued over 150,000 national security letters from 2003 to 2005. Alarmingly, these incidents are not the only violation of our liberties. The government maintains secret courts that issue orders without proper oversight from people who value citizens’ liberties.
I liken this to the story about the frog and boiling water. If you drop a frog into a boiling pot of water, it will immediately recognize the threat and jump out. If you place a frog into a cool pot and slowly heat it to a rolling boil, the frog will sit unaware until it is fully cooked. As a generation that witnessed 9/11, we did not imagine the lasting repercussions of the Patriot Act when it was quickly passed to protect American citizens. One could easily argue that drastic measures were necessary at the time, and as someone that watched two towers fall in my City, I can honestly say the situation demanded an equivocally deliberate response. I argue now that, like the frog, we did not notice the fire someone turned on below us.
Now that the dust has settled and we have had a chance to read and measure the full impact of the Patriot Act, it is obvious that it is simply un-American document. It contradicts everything we value as a country. What rights do we have left now that they have taken away our privacy? Can we still bear arms? I’d recommend stocking up because many government agencies can now walk into your home at any time without reason under the guise of ‘national security’.
I urge you to contact your Senator and/or Congressperson and demand they fix our system to protect your privacy.
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