I can't go to that bar anymore, or to any of those restaurants or shops, not unless I am prepared to travel somewhere.
On September 10, 2001, I could.
On September 10, 2001, the United States was not known for its torture techniques. "WMD" wasn't a household word.
On September 10, 2001, I did not concern myself with whom would be listening in to my phone calls or reading my emails. I wasn't worried about being in high skyscrapers, flying or backpacks. I didn't have to reveal my identity to police officers unless they had probable cause that I committed a crime.
Now I can get arrested for doing so.
Since September 11, 2001, like the aforementioned example of now being forced to reveal my name to a police officer, many other laws have been slipped passed us quietly for use in the future. We all know about the Patriot Act.
Among many other provisions, the FBI can now enter your home or business without a court issued search warrant and without probable cause, examine or confiscate any of your property, and tell you that they have been there "within a reasonable length of time". This "reasonable length of time" has not yet been established by the courts. They can do so under the guise that they are engaging in an "ongoing investigation" into terrorist activities. Furthermore, if you happen to discover that they have entered your home, you are prohibited by law from telling anybody about it. There is a proposed amendment to the act that will completely remove any judicial authority from the process. This essentially negates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees all Americans the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."
The Patriot Act is now permanent. Why isn't it up for renewal every year until we win the "War on Terror" or as it has been recently renamed "The Long War"? Because it is their plan to have this be our permanent future.
Whenever any one complains of this, the common rebuke is that we complainers should have no reason to worry if we are not terrorists or have nothing to hide. I did not have to worry if I had anything to hide on September 10, 2001.
Now I do. And that is because the goalposts of what defines a terrorist has been moved as well.
Homeland security has expanded the definition "because the attacks could be caused by foreign terrorists; domestic radical groups; statesponsored adversaries; or in some cases, disgruntled employees, the perpetrator has been named, the Universal Adversary (UA)." WHAT?? I've been disgruntled at work before.......you mean the Patriot Act will apply to me?
On September 10, 2001, it wouldn't. On September 10, 2001, illegal wire-tapping was illegal without a warrant. Now it is called "domestic surveillance" and is legal if the President says it is.
On September 10, 2001, the CIA and the U.S. Military were both forbidden from acting domestically. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 forbad it. Now, it is legal and happening.
On September 10, 2001, when Congress passed a bill, and the Presidend signed it into law, that law could not be changed without it being amended by Congress. However, when President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers. How nice of him. He has signed similar signing statements on nearly every bill passed during his term.
On September 10, 2001, the rule of law reigned. Our Constitution was secure. Now both are on life support.
Since September 11, 2001, the very nature of our existence has changed. And many have not noticed. Think back to September 10th, 2001 and remember the world then. Remember your lives then. One day later a terrorist who has never been caught committed a crime that has never been solved and now every minute of our daily life is progressively being taken over. Indeed, our elected leaders have recently given up their search for the aforesaid terrorist. Why? Well, in the end, it was never about him anyway. Osama Bin Laden was just a means to an end. They wanted to change the society, the country, that existed on September 10, 2001. And if you look back to that day, and remember how it was, they have.
This diary is not about a "pre-September 11th mindset." This diary is not about ignoring the danger of terrorism. The tools to defeat terrorists existed on September 10th, 2001. And they remained at our disposal througout, but we, or rather, our leaders did not use them. They wanted new tools. For they didn't want to defeat terrorists. They wanted to defeat America. Or at least, the America that existed on September 10th, 2001. And when you think back to your lives, our lives, on that day, the fact is, they have.
There is an old tale about a frog.
If you throw a frog into boiling water, he will jump out. But if you put him in cold water and gradually turn up the heat, he will slowly acclimate to the increasing temperature and eventually get cooked.
I have heard that this in fact is not true. That if you throw a frog into boiling water, he will die, not jump out and live. Meanwhile, if you throw a fog into cold water, he will not stay and enjoy his cold confines but instead he will jump out.
The test of this old tale is now placed on America. Are Americans being slowly boiled, such that they do not remember how it was on September 10th, 2001, or what rights they have slowly lost? Or will Americans take back what's theirs? Will they wake up and return to September 10th, 2001?
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