Ponder if you will the following quotes:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
–Amendment IV, U.S. Constitution
[President] Bush said he approved [wiretapping without a court warrant] “because it enables us to move faster and quicker. We’ve got to be fast on our feet.
“It is legal to do so. I swore to uphold the laws. Legal authority is derived from the Constitution,” he added.
—“Bush Says NSA Surveillance Necessary, Legal”, The Washington Post
Interesting, don’t you think?
Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark.
— Hamlet I.iv
You get that feeling, too, eh? The sad thing is that I can’t even summon a true sense of outrage anymore. The best I can manage is mild irony and grim resignation.
This has me really griped. >:( There was a quote on the radio today from one of our illustrious republican legislators who said “What good are your civil liberties if you’re DEAD FROM A TERRORIST ATTACK??” I think that just misses the whole point.
At least we have bipartisan outrage at this. Maybe something will get done now.
Yes, that’s the justification for everything, isn’t it? “We must turn our backs on all the principles this nation was founded on in order to keep you safe.” What a crock.
I intend to write more on this subject when I get some time, but the thing that folks like the guy you heard on the radio don’t seem to get is that America has historically held the high moral ground in most of our international dealings. We didn’t become the superpower purely through economic and military force, but also because we had the right way of thinking and talking about the things that mattered. But between quasi-sanctioned torture, a lackadaisical attitude toward civil liberties at home, and a general message of “might makes right,” we’re losing our justification for thinking of ourselves as ” the good guys.” Hell, it’s already gone.
The really crazy thing in the case of this NSA surveillance thing is that the mechanism for obtaining the proper warrants seems to have been extremely easy for gov’t agents to work with. There seems to be no reason why the administration felt it necessary to circumvent the process, except that they thought they could. Time and time again, the Bush White House has shown nothing but contempt for doing things the way they’re supposed to be done. And I hope you’re right and that they’re finally about to be smacked down for it.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. – BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor, November 11, 1755
Thought I only knew movie quotes, huh? (Okay, so I originally heard this one from 1776).
Doesn’t matter where you heard it, I think it applies beautifully to the current situation.