July 9, 2008 - The Day America....went right on just the same as it ever has.

[Political Heretic]

The passage of the FISA bill is certainly a shame. The question of who is really to blame, and who should be responsible to do what in response is the one we typically debate here. But the bill, and its passage - which was guaranteed from the moment it was allowed onto the house floor, with our without Obama's vote, is certainly disappointing.

But that's all it is - disappointing. Why does everyone always have to exaggerate things to hysterical extremes? It's as though we can't oppose something unless we pretend it is the biggest issue to ever face America in its entire history. But guess what? It isn't. It's wrong, its bad - but it's not the end of America. It is not the day the country died. It will barely be a footnote when historians write the history of America's decline.

No, I'm not suggesting that makes it "okay." But a little perspective would be nice. For every person posting here, and 99% of all other Americans, the odds overwhelmingly predict that this bad bill will never affect them in any way. So is it a big deal - yes because the principle matters, and because (though this is a slippery slope argument) it is very dangerous to begin to accept erosion of our constitutional protections because it makes more egregious violations more likely....

But at the same time, some responsible, adult sense of perspective and context would really be refreshing. For most of the people who are claiming that it is quite literally the end of life as well know it, their lives are going to go on exactly the same as they always have, with zero tangible impact whatsoever.