War On Terror
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Now the War on Terror is a nice political sound bite. But it's is a vague term. To quote Republican Representative Ron Paul of Texas, "The catch-all phrase, 'War on Terrorism', in all honesty, has no more meaning than if one wants to wage a war against criminal gangsterism. It's deliberately vague and non definable to justify and permit perpetual war anywhere, and under any circumstances."
So now we are to believe that during this perpetual war, we or our representatives, as citizens, are not allowed to question the actions of our current president or our future presidents. Think about that. Our friends and family will be asked to go off to war. Some will lose their lives, like those currently in Iraq, and yet we must remain silent. Is that the democracy they will be fighting to protect?
This War on Terror idea will be used by future presidents to wage pre-emptive wars like Iraq. It means we go to war anytime and anywhere. It will be bloody, expensive and endless. And there will be no measurable victory. And yet worse of all we will not be allowed to question our leaders or debate the issue. Silence is what and will be expected from us. Is that what the founding fathers hoped for when they established democracy here in America?
Fellow Americans, we are in danger of losing our liberties. The constitution is under attack. Future presidents will continue to chip away at the constitution. They will scare citizens into relinquishing liberties for the sake of security and they will call those who disagree traitors.
The phone tapping, the Internet surveillance, the looking into our finances, and the detaining people without due process will just be the beginning. I've heard many say that since they have nothing to hide, if it makes us safer, go for it. But what if a president decides, as a matter of national security, to protect us from terrorists, he or she will take away our right to bear arms or our freedom to assemble peacefully?
The one thing we have, as Americans, regardless of our race, gender, religion, income, or political affiliation, is the constitution and the liberties it was written to protect. Let us not allow war to silence our democracy. Let's encourage debate. Debating over our differences is healthy for our democracy. Every day our democracy stays vibrant and strong, will be a victory against our enemies, foreign and domestic.
The great American patriot Benjamin Franklin was credited for saying,"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security."
Those words are truer now than ever before.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our Letters Policy.[[In-content Ad]]
Now the War on Terror is a nice political sound bite. But it's is a vague term. To quote Republican Representative Ron Paul of Texas, "The catch-all phrase, 'War on Terrorism', in all honesty, has no more meaning than if one wants to wage a war against criminal gangsterism. It's deliberately vague and non definable to justify and permit perpetual war anywhere, and under any circumstances."
So now we are to believe that during this perpetual war, we or our representatives, as citizens, are not allowed to question the actions of our current president or our future presidents. Think about that. Our friends and family will be asked to go off to war. Some will lose their lives, like those currently in Iraq, and yet we must remain silent. Is that the democracy they will be fighting to protect?
This War on Terror idea will be used by future presidents to wage pre-emptive wars like Iraq. It means we go to war anytime and anywhere. It will be bloody, expensive and endless. And there will be no measurable victory. And yet worse of all we will not be allowed to question our leaders or debate the issue. Silence is what and will be expected from us. Is that what the founding fathers hoped for when they established democracy here in America?
Fellow Americans, we are in danger of losing our liberties. The constitution is under attack. Future presidents will continue to chip away at the constitution. They will scare citizens into relinquishing liberties for the sake of security and they will call those who disagree traitors.
The phone tapping, the Internet surveillance, the looking into our finances, and the detaining people without due process will just be the beginning. I've heard many say that since they have nothing to hide, if it makes us safer, go for it. But what if a president decides, as a matter of national security, to protect us from terrorists, he or she will take away our right to bear arms or our freedom to assemble peacefully?
The one thing we have, as Americans, regardless of our race, gender, religion, income, or political affiliation, is the constitution and the liberties it was written to protect. Let us not allow war to silence our democracy. Let's encourage debate. Debating over our differences is healthy for our democracy. Every day our democracy stays vibrant and strong, will be a victory against our enemies, foreign and domestic.
The great American patriot Benjamin Franklin was credited for saying,"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security."
Those words are truer now than ever before.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our Letters Policy.[[In-content Ad]]
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