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On Abjuring Terror
# Andrew (other) Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 5:12 pm
>> Those of us who would prefer to put our heads in the sand, will likely wake up one day to a very sad reality and an extremely weak economy.
We see the threat of terrorist attack with a clear eye and a calm heart.
While acknowledging that evil people can do horrible things, we choose not to live in fear and terror and allow little people with delusions of grandeur to control our hearts and minds.
We must first have liberty, for the state of the economy to have any meaning. The freedom to think is much more important than the freedom to buy.
Consider this: the term “traitor” was used as an epithet to describe people during the Revolutionary War. Treason remains the only crime defined in the Constitution as requiring the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
In the 21st century, we have allowed “terrorist” to take the place of the 18th century “traitor.” Labeling people as terrorists based on network analysis is like labeling people traitors based on who their friends and family are.
We also define corruption of blood and ex post facto laws as unconstitutional. This form of guilt by association smacks of both.
Tracking actual honest-to-goodness terrorists? With all that taxpayer money, you’d better.
Denying people the opportunity to work and to travel on the basis of secret government lists? Not in my Constitutional republic you don’t.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:12 pm
>> Those of us who would prefer to put our heads in the sand, will likely wake up one day to a very sad reality and an extremely weak economy.
We see the threat of terrorist attack with a clear eye and a calm heart.
While acknowledging that evil people can do horrible things, we choose not to live in fear and terror and allow little people with delusions of grandeur to control our hearts and minds.
We must first have liberty, for the state of the economy to have any meaning. The freedom to think is much more important than the freedom to buy.
Consider this: the term “traitor” was used as an epithet to describe people during the Revolutionary War. Treason remains the only crime defined in the Constitution as requiring the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
In the 21st century, we have allowed “terrorist” to take the place of the 18th century “traitor.” Labeling people as terrorists based on network analysis is like labeling people traitors based on who their friends and family are.
We also define corruption of blood and ex post facto laws as unconstitutional. This form of guilt by association smacks of both.
Tracking actual honest-to-goodness terrorists? With all that taxpayer money, you’d better.
Denying people the opportunity to work and to travel on the basis of secret government lists? Not in my Constitutional republic you don’t.
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