Fascism Is Not Patriotism
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 2/20/08 @ 12:25 pm - Filed Under 2008 Local Elections, National Politics
Mark Souder has an op-ed in today’s News Sentinel that uses his typical fear-mongering tactics to try and explain why citizens should throw out the 4th amendment and allow the government to spy on them. Of course this isn’t exactly the terminology the government uses - they call it the Protect America Act. I’ve been on record numerous times describing my opposition to this expansion of illegal government power and frankly I’m loathed to do it again. But there’s one part of Souder’s column that just makes my blood boil and I must address it.
In the wake of 9/11, some telecom employers were asked by the federal government to help them track suspected terrorists. If they’re not granted immunity, these companies could face a barrage of lawsuits brought by trial lawyers.
At a perilous time, many American employers answered their nation’s call for help, and I believe we have an obligation to ensure they’re not penalized for their patriotism. If Congress does not grant them retroactive immunity, how many firms are likely to cooperate with the federal government in the future?
First off the government was conducting this illegal wiretapping of American citizens before 9/11 so that argument won’t fly. But more importantly it is not patriotic to violate the Constitution because a draconian administration asks you to do so. We cannot ignore the document that is the very fabric of this country whenever we feel like it. We must never allow security to trump liberty.
What makes this country great is that we stand by our core principles even when it would be more convenient to temporarily ignore them. The citizens of this country must draw a line in the sand and tell their government that liberty is too important to be forsaken - even if it means that innocent lives will be lost from time to time. That is the price we pay as a free society…
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Three things about this column irritate me:
1. Nancy Pelosi is an embarassment to the Democratic Party. When the Democrats swept to power they promised to “drain the swamp” and run Congress allowing the minority a voice. Congressman Souder is right, this bill would have easliy passed; however, the Democratic leadership refused to allow a vote on it. That is shameful.
2. The Protect America Act should be re-named the “Give up your Freedoms act.” I am sick and tired of listening to people tell me that I need to give up my civil liberties because a few radical extremists want to kill some Americans. There have always been radicals who want to kill us and there always will be radicals who want to kills us. Get over it.
3. The article was written by Mark Souder, enough said.
Mike Sylvester