In the McCarthyism era people were under pressure from the government to adhere to a specific political opinion. We as Americans were required to abhor Communism and anyone who supported (or even felt any kind of intellectual curiosity about) Communism was automatically an enemy of the state. If there was evidence of an interest in any topic related to Karl Marx or other Communist philosophers, that person became an enemy of the state and was likely ostracized from their community or professional society. As our society becomes more and more paranoid about terrorism, it will be a pretty easy path to return back to McCarthyistic blackballing politics. Only now, our enemy is not Communism and Karl Marx, but Islam and Mexicans.
Subversive speech and writings are key to any functioning free society. If people cannot speak out against the government for fear of prosecution, freedom becomes a myth. When there are only two political parties that follow strict voting rules where nobody from the Republican part dares side with a Democrat, democracy becomes a myth. Why bother having 435 members of congress when we could have 4 republicans and 3 democrats for a fraction of the cost? It's not like it would change the way they vote or how much a citizen's vote matters. I have subversive opinions and intellectual curiosity about topics that don't fit into our American ideal opinion.
The reason why I'm writing about all this should probably be pretty obvious, I have a major objection to the government spying on communications. The only time when this should happen is when a warrant is applied for and given by a court of law, otherwise we are living in a society that is just a few baby steps from becoming authoritarian. The government already controls what drugs we take, what words we can say on TV and Radio and where we can build a home. Imagine if we continued to tighten free speech to the point where questioning the government's authority became a crime...is it really that far off with a highly conservative legislative, executive and judicial majority? Remember that even though we live in a supposedly democratic society (forget the fact that 300,000,000 Americans rely on 548 rich people to make decisions in their best interests), we are still under the control of a faceless entity that is not fond of strong individuality. Democracies can collapse very quickly, and America is showing many of the same signs that every other collapsing empire has shown during its twilight years. We've overextended ourselves and have forgotten that while we have the most robust economy in the world, we do not have the population to sustain our dominance without focusing within. Instead, we launch wars on Terror, Drugs and immigration in addition to Islam and Science.
Germany was a fine democracy (The Weimar Republic) before the Nazis were ELECTED to power by the public...think we as Americans wouldn't elect a government like that? We already elect those who curb free speech, ban abortion and tighten restrictions on personal freedoms. Italy also elected the Fascist party that joined Hitler in the Axis Powers. Democracies can be elected out, but they can also fade into authoritarianism. If anyone has read "Brave New World", it becomes clear that Huxley wasn't just high on LSD when he wrote that, he really had an insight as to where we as Western nations were headed. Classes are becoming more divided again, rich are getting obscenely rich and the poor are getting more destitute. So back to spying...imagine if the government decided that it was illegal to have socialist sentiments and to badmouth the government, how quickly would I be discovered? In today's electronic age where so much of what we communicate to others is floating around in cyberspace, we need to ensure our own security. Terrorism is just an excuse used by the government to scare us into going along with their agenda. No government wants its people to be free, so it's up to us to protect our own freedoms. Bush is not Pol Pot or Pinochet, but President Boehner or Frist might be...we mustn't be overconfident in the strength of our liberty.
I could go on for days on this subject, as nothing is more important in society than liberty. Without the freedom to speak to whomever I choose (no matter if they are Mohammed Rasheed Ibn al Bakr from Afghanistan, or Cameron Loughlin from San Francisco) about whatever I want (Allah, the stupidity of President Bush) I might as well not live. Life without freedom is death.
Subversive speech and writings are key to any functioning free society. If people cannot speak out against the government for fear of prosecution, freedom becomes a myth. When there are only two political parties that follow strict voting rules where nobody from the Republican part dares side with a Democrat, democracy becomes a myth. Why bother having 435 members of congress when we could have 4 republicans and 3 democrats for a fraction of the cost? It's not like it would change the way they vote or how much a citizen's vote matters. I have subversive opinions and intellectual curiosity about topics that don't fit into our American ideal opinion.
The reason why I'm writing about all this should probably be pretty obvious, I have a major objection to the government spying on communications. The only time when this should happen is when a warrant is applied for and given by a court of law, otherwise we are living in a society that is just a few baby steps from becoming authoritarian. The government already controls what drugs we take, what words we can say on TV and Radio and where we can build a home. Imagine if we continued to tighten free speech to the point where questioning the government's authority became a crime...is it really that far off with a highly conservative legislative, executive and judicial majority? Remember that even though we live in a supposedly democratic society (forget the fact that 300,000,000 Americans rely on 548 rich people to make decisions in their best interests), we are still under the control of a faceless entity that is not fond of strong individuality. Democracies can collapse very quickly, and America is showing many of the same signs that every other collapsing empire has shown during its twilight years. We've overextended ourselves and have forgotten that while we have the most robust economy in the world, we do not have the population to sustain our dominance without focusing within. Instead, we launch wars on Terror, Drugs and immigration in addition to Islam and Science.
Germany was a fine democracy (The Weimar Republic) before the Nazis were ELECTED to power by the public...think we as Americans wouldn't elect a government like that? We already elect those who curb free speech, ban abortion and tighten restrictions on personal freedoms. Italy also elected the Fascist party that joined Hitler in the Axis Powers. Democracies can be elected out, but they can also fade into authoritarianism. If anyone has read "Brave New World", it becomes clear that Huxley wasn't just high on LSD when he wrote that, he really had an insight as to where we as Western nations were headed. Classes are becoming more divided again, rich are getting obscenely rich and the poor are getting more destitute. So back to spying...imagine if the government decided that it was illegal to have socialist sentiments and to badmouth the government, how quickly would I be discovered? In today's electronic age where so much of what we communicate to others is floating around in cyberspace, we need to ensure our own security. Terrorism is just an excuse used by the government to scare us into going along with their agenda. No government wants its people to be free, so it's up to us to protect our own freedoms. Bush is not Pol Pot or Pinochet, but President Boehner or Frist might be...we mustn't be overconfident in the strength of our liberty.
I could go on for days on this subject, as nothing is more important in society than liberty. Without the freedom to speak to whomever I choose (no matter if they are Mohammed Rasheed Ibn al Bakr from Afghanistan, or Cameron Loughlin from San Francisco) about whatever I want (Allah, the stupidity of President Bush) I might as well not live. Life without freedom is death.
posted by Dan Pasternack at 1:32 PM
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