From: "Ronn Blankenship" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > -- Ronn! :) > > God bless America, > Land that I love! > Stand beside her, and guide her > Thru the night with a light from above. > From the mountains, to the prairies, > To the oceans, white with foam. > God bless America! > My home, sweet home.
Oh no, it's a born again patriot. Run! Ok, I hope no one takes this sarcastic message the wrong way, so allow me to explain what I mean here. Maybe it's just my being autistic, but I don't understand why someone's perception of the nation in which they live should change simply because another group launches a brutal attack on that nation. After Sept. 11, 2001 everybody sudenly got the urge to be ultra patriots. What is sad though is that this new found "patriotism" blinded people to the actions taken to counter these attacks. No, I am not talking about Afghanistan. I think the campaigns in Afghanistan have been handled exceptionally well, and with surprising diplomacy. That of which I speek are executive orders issued by the president and some of the "anti-terrorist" legislation that passed in the aftermath, which essentially ignored the constitution, directly contradicting the bill of rights. I am sorry, but that doesn't make me feel more the patriot, it makes me feel less patriotic. The terrorists wanted to strike at the foundation of our country with their actions, and with our reaction to the attack, they succeeded. In unrelated legislation, now, for the first time ever in the history of our country, people are trying to pass a *constitutional amendment* (not just a law, an amendment) to *limit* the rights of some of its citizens (not define rights, as has always been the role of the constitution in the past, but to actually limit rights), and most people have their mind elsewhere because of terror threats, and domestic terrorism to realize what's happening. I have always apreciated the freedom that this country has bestowed upon its citizens, but at the same time recognize that there are still some things that the government has no place interfering in, and think that recent actions have been a huge step in the wrong direction. Don't give me any guff about "taking a step back to take two steps forward." Any true patriot in this country should be screaming with contempt at any attempt to limit the individual rights of the citizens of this country. Michael Harney [EMAIL PROTECTED]
