By
now, everyone has written about Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" being
dropped from multiple ABC affiliates after he said that the terrorists
were not cowards. He refused to get on the patriotic, "my-country-right-or-wrong"
bandwagon, and suffered for it.
Granted, Maher's
opinions were ill-timed. I've disagreed with him on many issues. His comments
about the hijackers were questionable. But his following statement that
we are the cowards, for lobbing bombs at starving civilians from the safety
of our ships, gave me pause.
All of that is
totally beside the point. Maher is the latest to be muzzled, as we are
doing our level best to destroy whatever freedoms Osama bin Laden left
standing.
An excellent
essay by Jacob Levich is circulating the web, comparing the current mindset
of America with that of George Orwell's incredibly bleak "1984." The Office
of Homeland Security - is that not the most Orwellian name you've ever
heard? In "1984," Oceania was always at war with Eurasia or East Asia,
depending on the day of the week. Or, as the Onion put it, "U.S. Vows to
Win The Fight Against Whoever It Is We're At War With."
Meanwhile, the
police in New York City confiscate film from news photographers "out of
concern for the families," as if any newspaper in this country would run
photos of dead bodies on page one. The FBI is asking for and likely to
get permission for expanded wiretap powers and loosened requirements for
search warrants.
"To save freedrom,
the warmongers will destroy it," Levich said.
Plus, there's
the trickle-down effect. The governor of Alabama has decreed that all freedom
of information requests from the press will be directed through his attorney
general. Not from the public, mind you - just the press. A colleague of
mine was investigating a police scandal, and the public official she was
interviewing scolded her for writing "such negative stories" at a time
"when people are coming together behind the police." Her response is best
left to the imagination.
Anyone else frightened?
How long before
my weekly rants on my web site become "subversive," and the government
can tap my phone and pry into my life? I've said some pretty anti-patriotic
things, some of them right in this column. It is no longer acceptable to
make fun of the president, Congress, the FBI, the CIA - and there's an
organization screaming out to be made fun of - or airline security guys.
That kills ninety percent of my past and present work. I can't even call
the man my coworker calls Turtle-Face President Shrub, and I swore I'd
do that until 2004.
Recently, I got
into an argument with someone I otherwise respect about this issue. I professed
my fears about giving up our rights. He said since he has nothing to hide,
he doesn't mind giving up some of his rights to free speech and privacy
for a while, and cracked a joke about mothballing the Bill of Rights for
a while.
That's
when I really got frightened. He's an intelligent person, fairly literate
in current events and history. But he, and so many others, are becoming
terrifyingly susceptible to the drumbeats from Washington and New York.
They believe you can set aside the Constitution and it's all going to be
okay eventually.
But you
never give up your rights temporarily. The rights you lose are lost until
you buy them back by blood. The freedom of the press has already been set
back 50 years, and that's if everything stops today.
Everywhere you
look, the flag is flying. It's plastered on cars, clothing, buildings,
windows and every television station. Websites are hawking patriotic
merchandise and I've even seen commercials for "The Full Patriotic Package"
of flags to hang from your car windows and cubicle.
Patriotism is
a wonderful thing. I consider myself a patriot. But sometimes, to paraphrase
Thomas Jefferson, it becomes necessary to defend your country against your
government (and if that doesn't set off the Office of Homeland Security,
nothing will - hey boys, I'm over here!). Government, even democratic government,
is afraid of true freedom because that means freedom from control. Were
the people of Oceania always under the thumb of Big Brother? Of course
not. They gave up freedom, piece by piece, bit by bit, until whole generations
grew up never knowing they once could think and say what they pleased.
In the
excellent movie "The Siege" (which will probably never be seen again),
Denzel Washington argues with Bruce Willis' general that the terrorists
have already won. "What if what they really want, General, is to put American
citizens in jail? Shred the Constitution just a little bit?"
If that was Osama
bin Laden's goal, he has succeeded. Not only did he kill thousands of our
citizens, he convinced the survivors that our freedoms weren't so
important after all.
I was horrified
and sickened by the events of Sept. 11. I was angry and resolute in my
wish to see justice done. But I wasn't afraid, not even when the anthrax
scares started and they passed out rubber gloves and masks for opening
our mail at work.
Now I'm truly
frightened, not of bin Laden, but of ourselves, our complacent desire for
safety at all costs. I was lucky enough to be born and raised in a country
of freedom, where I can call the president Turtle-Face and the Office of
Homeland Security won't come knocking on my door to make me disappear.
But now I fear
that by the time my son enters kindergarten and learns the Pledge of Allegiance,
the flag we're flying from every stationary object will stand for a forgotten
dream - something found in a book, perhaps. |
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