-Caveat Lector- > Subject: "I didn't speak up because I wasn't an 'X'" > > HELEN THOMAS | It's Time To Speak Up > > WASHINGTON - 12.14.01 | If there ever was a time when Americans > should > speak up on behalf of people in this country > whose rights are being abridged, that time is now. > > I remember with tremendous sadness the statement of Martin Niemoller, > a > Lutheran minister in Berlin, after World War > II as a warning of what can happen when people do not come to the > defense of others whose civil liberties have been > taken away. > > Niemoller said, "In Germany they came first for the Communists and I > didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. > Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a > Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I > didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for > the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was > a Protestant. Then they came for me -- and by that time, no one was > left > to speak up." > > Niemoller had founded the Pastors Emergency League to Resist > Hitlerism > and had been confined to Nazi concentration > camps for eight years before his release in 1945. > > Happily, we do not have that kind of environment in the current > terrorist crisis. But there is always the possibility that we > could create an atmosphere where dissent and freedom of speech are > not > tolerated on grounds of national security. > > We all know America is admired by people around the world because of > its > freedoms, especially those under the Bill of > Rights, which protects citizens and even non-citizens. We are a > nation > that has been governed by laws that have > endured for more than 200 years. If we lose our title of "land of the > free," what have we got? > > Under his authority as commander-in-chief, President Bush seems to > have > given his Cabinet carte blanche in pursuing > suspects, detaining immigrants secretly and establishing military > tribunals that could impose the death penalty by a > two-thirds vote of the jury without judicial review. > > Attorney General John Ashcroft, summoned last week before the Senate > Judiciary Committee, was masterful in showing > that the best defense is a good offense. > > He bluntly attacked the panel's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., > and > other critics who had voiced concerns about > lost liberties. "We need honest, reasoned debate, not > fear-mongering," > Ashcroft said. "To those who scare peace-loving > people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: 'Your > tactics > only aid terrorists -- for they erode national unity > and diminish national resolve."' > > Actually, the real erosion takes place when we allow the chipping > away > of the bulwark of the U.S. Constitution and our > overall record on human rights, which have made us a beacon around > the > globe. > > Where are the modern-day Patrick Henrys and Thomas Paines when we > need > them? Henry was the most celebrated > orator of the American Revolution. Every schoolchild has learned his > ringing call, "Give me liberty or give me death." > And Paine is remembered for his pamphlets on behalf of political > equality, tolerance, civil liberties and human dignity. > > But Ashcroft argued that people who hope the kind of terrorist > attacks > that occurred on Sept. 11 will not be repeated > "were living in a dream world." > > He held up a training manual for al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden's terror > network, and said it showed that "terrorists are > taught how to use America's freedoms as a weapon against us." > > With strong support in the public opinion polls, the administration > obviously feels it is free to proceed in curbing civil > liberties. > > In their questioning of Ashcroft many of the senators, except for > Leahy > and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., rolled over. After > all, who wants to be called unpatriotic in these times? > > Where are the profiles in courage? There are not many on Capitol > Hill, > where lawmakers seem to be giving up their > own rights to set rules on the treatment of immigrants and others in > this country who are detained or sought by the > government for questioning. > > To Bush, Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, I would ask > this: Please remember the quote of Adlai > Stevenson, the Democratic presidential nominee in the 1950s who said, > "Democracy is great not just because the > majority prevails but because it is safe to be in the minority." > > The attorney general, accusing the critics of exaggerating or > misstating > the dangers of the government's new curbs on > civil rights, insisted that the Justice Department "has sought to > prevent terrorism with reason, careful balance and > excruciating attention to detail." > > Of course, Americans are willing to defer some of the freedoms they > once > had for valid security reasons. No one can > dispute the need for strict enforcement of the rules at airports and > in > vulnerable public buildings. Arrests of foreign-born > residents accused of violating immigration laws or of having > knowledge > of terrorists or their plans are certainly legal. > But those detained should also be given due process rights and equal > protection of the laws. And the long detentions of > innocent persons based on little or no evidence should be stopped. > > Ashcroft plans to offer immigrants help in obtaining citizenship if > they > snitch on their friends or acquaintances as > dangers to the Republic. But such an official policy would undermine > our > nation's reputation for probity and decency. > > What we need now are more leaders who are students of civics, > democracy > and especially the Constitution. For to > become great Americans, we must know why the founders of our country > were so outstanding.
> (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is > distributed without profit to those who have expressed a > prior interest in receiving the included information for research and > educational purposes.) > > � : t r u t h o u t 2001 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
