Day for Memorials

Blogger Pachacutec at Firedoglake has a Memorial Day post on the "War on Terror," There Is No “War on Terror”, that gives voice to some of the thoughts that I have been having of late. This is especially true because the justification for much of the Administration's sweeping power grab is premised upon the never-ending "War on Terror."

Whenever I hear the War excuse used by Bush, I keep asking myself, was there an official declaration of war by Congress? If so, when does it end? The way Bush describes it, it will last forever. Yet, the reality is that there was no official declaration of war. Just a do whatever, whenever. See Michael Kinsley's prophetic blog from March of 2003, The Bush Doctrine: War without anyone's permission, calling the resolution to use military force "the biggest scandal in constitutional law: the gradual disappearance of the congressional Declaration of War."

As Pachacutec said:

There is no "War on Terror."

There is, however, a "war" on the U. S. Constitution.

After September 11, 2001, we’ve learned that we can take a punch and move on. We’ve faced far worse threats to our national survival in our history - the Civil War, the War of 1812, World War II to name a few - but we never abandoned our Constitution. Until now.

Terror is an emotion. Emotions are part of human nature and cannot be eradicated. A "War on Terror" is therefore a war on humanity. The Bush administration has exploited the fear and shock of a nation in the wake of a surprising and dramatic act of violence to whip national fear and paranoia into a constant boil.

* * * *

There is no "War on Terror." There is only a war on the law, a conscious destruction of the U. S. Constitution. This is not the first time right wing interests have attempted to overthrow the U. S. government. An attempt was thwarted during the FDR administration. Then as now, America’s greatest enemies come from among the ranks of America’s ruling master class.

Bushco has enslaved Americans into a psychological reign of "War on Terror" that amounts to a criminal protection racket. We are told we must be afraid. That is, we are told we must live in terror. This is to protect us from. . . terror. Then, because we feel terrified, we must give up our freedom - freedom to write what we believe without fear of reprisal, freedom of due process and habeas corpus protection, freedom from secret intrusion into our private lives by government.

Today is Memorial Day. Today we remember countless patriots who died and fought for those freedoms our president tells us we must abandon. . . in the name of "freedom."

Let's worry a little less about the matching red, white & blue decor & a little more about freedom. Otherwise, we really do have much to fear.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Civil Liberties