I just wrote this for the editorial page of local paper

and would like some feed back:

Each of us is sovereign, with birthrights. Yet many of you are willing to give up these birthrights out of fear. Yes, there are terrorists in the world, always have been, always will be. Their objective is to instill fear, they have accomplished their main goal, and they’ve won. Get a grip. This paranoia has to stop. We have to get back to living. We cannot win by giving up our birthrights, becoming the repression we are fighting. Our “Bill of Rights” is our strength, why are we so willing to tear it to shreds, weakening ourselves?

We do not have to give up our birthrights, for security. The Patriot Act, illegal wire-tapping (my goodness we have to spy on the Quakers?) and other rights grabbing policies are unneeded. Torture, rendition, secret prisons, disappearing of people, suspension of habeas corpus and spying on American peace organizations are not acceptable. These things being done in our name makes us weak.

As seen by the Homeland Security response to Katrina, it's incompetence that’s the problem. From the top, down. Incompetence. All the additional layers of security do nothing to add to our security, it just empties out the U.S. Treasury. Guarding of nuclear materials, inspections of freight, adding to our first responders and police forces, communications systems...these are the things that will protect us, yet these are the areas where Homeland Security scored F's on the latest report by the 9/11 Commission.

This administration is intent on increasing the powers of the Executive Office (meaning, he is the ultimate power, Congress can go – they are not needed). We are not a country ruled by a King; we are ruled by laws, with NO man or woman above the LAW. Congress is lax in its oversight, and I have to wonder about their consciences when they finally see what partisan politics (one party control) have done to our country and freedom.

Incompetence of our leaders or increasing their authority will not improve the state of our security, will not lessen our fear. Until the incompetent are gone and replaced we will be vulnerable.



or am I

to Katrina?

This is NOT a criticism,just a suggestion--(since you asked).

I could never write an editorial as well as you did.

because it's part of HLS and that the WHOLE is fucked-up...

but it may be a little too long to be an effective LTTE. I would say either 1)tighten it up and sharpen the focus or 2) flesh it out and submit it as a guest column.

You have excellent ideas (i.e. the relationship of fear and authority) and you explain your position well.

There are some good and necessary provisions in the PA and by your wording you will cause some people to stop reading at that point. Otherwise GREAT!

send it off now. It was well written and made your all your points effectively. :toast:

and then send it out....

And it's kind of unfocused, beginning with a ceding of rights to the government, then harping on the government's ineptitude. If the Bush administration is a bunch of screw-ups, why should anyone worry about them overstepping their constitutional bounds? This is the gang that can't shoot straight.

I would suggest a re-write of your point about incompetence, asserting that this bunch of stumblebums is as likely to scoop up the innocent (such as a Quaker group) as the guilty in its overreach, which endangers all citizens, not just the "bad" guys -- whoever they might be.