http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2002-2006 by the authors Thu, 12 Sep 2002 18:17:20 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/09/11/234929.php#comment-584 Eric, this post wasn't meant to negate the possibility that we do indeed have external enemies. Of course we do. But their actions and activities are far less likely to affect us personally than the activities of the current administration, and I believe that we should take note of that fact, not to mention speak out against them when they use tragedies such as 9/11 as a deflector shield to quell open political debate. Remember when one lone member of Congress stood her ground and refused to play along? No one applauded her courage -- they played the name-calling game and questioned her patriotism. That, to me, is truly terrifying, and is part of what I was trying to point out above. On a personal level, which is what I was concerned about when I wrote the above, you (for example) are much less likely to be the target of a terrorist attack than I am. It's similar to why my car insurance is higher-priced than yours: our locality determines our level of risk. The inner-ring Boston suburb where I live is, statistically, more likely to suffer negative actions such as car theft -- or a terrorist's bomb -- than an outlying city near Cleveland. However, you and I both have an absolutely equal chance of having our civil rights taken away by Ashcroft and his ilk. Just think about the informant program he wanted to put into place, and imagine what they'd have dreamed up next if it hadn't been scrapped. It's all about taking action where you can. You and I can't personally prevent the next Osama bin Laden from doing whatever he or she tries to do, but we can vote out the politicians who protect the status quo that enables them to prosper. (Hmmm. The Bush family and the House of Saud? Refer to Matt Welch's writings on that, but it's only one example) ]]> 584@blogcritics.org Thu, 12 Sep 2002 18:17:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/09/11/234929.php#comment-583 Shannon, I would hae to rather strongly assert that we have VERY REAL external enemies, who are a much greater threat to us than any member of the current administration. ]]> 583@blogcritics.org Thu, 12 Sep 2002 11:17:33 EDT