On Terrorism, Tyranny, And...

"Whatever pleases the prince shall have force of law." - Emperor Justinian; as quoted in James Bovard's book about the Bush W. years, 'Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice, and Peace to Rid the World of Evil'.  Near the beginning of this valuable and insightful tome,1 Bovard points out, in effect, that for our national leaders recently, to protect our liberties in this country we must destroy them, in order to keep terrorists from destroying them.  Because they - the terrorists, that is to say - hate our liberties, you see.  And our fearless leaders?  Oh, they love them, with a passion.  That's why they want to destroy them, with a passion.  It makes perfect sense, when you think about it.  It's like the mentality current in the Vietnam War era, wherein we westerners were destroying villages in order to save them.  It's all a matter of perspective, you see.

The perspective, in this case, of an idiot.2   

For a different perspective on this specific issue, let me go to one of our Founding Fathers.  Quoting Benjamin Franklin, with words to the effect: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

But then those guys with the funny hats and wigs were just a bunch of old fuddy-duddies anyway, weren't they.  Old-fashioned.  Faded pictures on our money.  Who today probably couldn't be elected to any office in any of the 57 states, for being so out of touch with our current reality...  

A current reality wherein the American people have elected to the highest office in the land a man who is ineligible for the office in the first place, and, in the second place, who thinks there are 57 states in the Union.

Maybe in some other Union.   Not this one.

Although, as to that subject:

We are distinctly, and dangerously, a divided nation, as symbolized by the red state and blue state insignias.  (All 50 of them.)  But this is only a momentary condition.  On the other side of this current Great Divide, we are all One.  In the meantime, we are acting out a drama that needs to run its course, for however much longer that takes, for us to wrap up our collective karma; thence to move on, into the single state of Unity.

Which will never happen on this level, this dimension, this density, this illusion, of duality.  By its very nature, we are polarized when within its realm.  Now on one side of an issue or situation; now on another. 

To learn how to see things whole.  

It's a matter of perspective; you see.


And now, as Saul has just said, through John Smallman: "The dream's only remaining purpose is that you awaken from it."  So: Over to us.

Not our erstwhile masters.  Who need a lesson in Love.

Any takers?

Any givers??...

As Saul has also just said (and I paraphrase a bit): "Love has us all in its fond embrace."  Surrender to it.  You - and we all - will be glad that you did.

For we are all in this together.  This dream; about to become - to transmute into -  the Reality.


Terrorism.   Tyranny.  And Totality.

The end of the drama.  The start of The Bigger Picture, in earnest.  

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footnotes:

1 He has also written other, similar reads: 'Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty'; 'Freedom in Chains'; and ''Feeling Your Pain': The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years'.  Proving his bipartisanship.  

2 "To protect America from terrorism, the bill [the PATRIOT Act; coming down imperiously from the Senate as the USA Act] empowered federal agencies to treat almost anyone suspected of violating any law like a terrorist. "  The bill was rushed to the House for its approval without allowing any amendments.  Just a blank check, to be signed off by them, giving the Bush administration carte blanche, in its War on Terrorism.  The term 'terrorist' to be defined as the administration saw fit.  

     Bovard goes on to quote the New York Times on the matter:

     "Passage of the bill…was the climax of a remarkable 18-hour period in which both the House and the Senate adopted complex, far-reaching antiterrorism legislation with little debate in an atmosphere of edgy alarm, as federal law enforcements officials warned that another attack could be imminent."  Well, they would, wouldn't they…

     Bovard concludes that chapter thusly:

      "The higher Bush's approval ratings rose, the more contempt congressmen showed for their oath of office - their pledge to uphold the Constitution.  Curtsies to the Bill of Rights by the congressmen were apparently the only protection that Americans' rights deserved.  When a congressman votes for a bill, he is signing a contract for the American people.  When a Congressman signs a 'contract' like the Patriot Act without reading it, he vivifies his contempt for the people's liberties.  The fact that congressmen acted so irresponsibly [in this matter] is a warning to Americans not to rely on their representatives to safeguard their rights."

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P.S.  from newsmax.com: 'White House Defends NSA Culling Millions of Verizon Records' - June 6

"The Obama administration is collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S.-based Verizon Communications Inc. customers, relying on a secret court order obtained under a George W. Bush administration policy that sparked a national controversy, the Guardian newspaper reported.

"An administration official today defended such information collection as a “critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats.” The U.K. newspaper reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was granted a court order in April requiring Verizon to provide the National Security Agency with information about calls inside the U.S. ande [sic] between the U.S. and other countries on a daily and “ongoing” basis.

"In an e-mailed statement, the official -- who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss classified information and spoke on condition of anonymity -- didn’t dispute the Guardian report and said all three branches of the government are involved 'reviewing and authorizing intelligence collection under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act'.”

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act…"Verizon to provide the (NSA) with information about calls inside the U.S…."  Mission creep, anyone???…    Ah:

"Privacy-rights advocates issued swift protests upon learning of the Guardian report, calling the data collection an intrusion on millions of innocent Americans. The American Civil Liberties Union called for the Obama administration to halt the program and disclose its scope and asked Congress to investigate.

‘Beyond Orwellian’

“'It is beyond Orwellian,'” Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. It shows 'the extent to which basic democratic rights are being surrendered in secret to the demands of unaccountable intelligence agencies'.”

I rest my case.