It's Time to Take Back Our Civil Liberties

[Donnachaidh]

http://truthout.org/its-time-take-back-our-civil-liberties/1306260117

It took the United States government nearly 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden in retribution for the September 11, 2001, attacks. Over that same period, Muslims struggled to overcome guilt by association for the criminal acts of bin Laden. Meanwhile, all Americans were forced to give up civil liberties in a purported exchange for more security.

As part of its concerted war on terror, the US government under both presidents Bush and Obama directed most national security resources toward terrorism committed by Muslims, while the likes of Jared Lee Loughner and Joseph Stack attacked undetected. Frightening images of Muslim terrorists persuaded the American public that spending billions of dollars on occupying Iraq and Afghanistan was necessary despite burgeoning economic ills at home.

Compromising our civil liberties also became an acceptable sacrifice to protect us from Osama bin Laden's murderous gang. Body scan machines electronically strip search us at nearly every airport. Fusion centers across the country gather intelligence on average Americans to deposit into massive databases monitored by the government. Tens of thousands of warrantless national security letters are issued every year to obtain information about our financial and political lives absent evidence of criminal activity. And police departments have shifted resources from necessary crime-fighting to mapping communities based on their religious faiths and ethnic origins under the auspices of protecting national security.

There remain many questions about whether such infringements on our civil liberties at home led to the weakening of al-Qaida abroad and the eventual elimination of Osama bin Laden. But one thing is clear. The war on terror was a remarkable success in vilifying more than 6 million people in America of various ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

More at the link --

[CrispyQ]

1. I still proudly sport this sticker in the back window of my truck:

Got a thumbs up from another driver, just a couple of days ago.

[annabanana]

2. Nice sticker.. Where can I get one?. . n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. The people who are abusing those rights aren't going to give in easily.