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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction
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To: Bill who wrote (52265)10/18/2006 7:46:36 PM
From: Solon  Read Replies (2) of 90947
 
Wonk made an excellent submission but I think your response carries the bottom line.

But even citizens who trust that this Act is legally confined to particular aliens may rue the deed. Many believe that citizen rights are simply HUMAN rights encoded by statute--as was the rationale behind the Constitution. Therefore, it is still possible to accept the legality of the Act as it relates to citizens, while lamenting the fact that it deprives certain people of fundamental rights.

In this case, the "people" must be "alien" and "enemy" and "unlawful". Although these are subject to interpretation, they still provide, imo, a sufficient caution. Your post acknowledges same.

Then again--war has her own rules and prerogatives...

Of course, it is clear that there is a sense of "alien" in the divides of politics and religion that separate lawful citizens one from another in mind and in identity; so any Act which encourages divisiveness (whether based on thought or emotion--intellect or fear) needs to be carefully weighed. The Civil War will not be the LAST civil war. Any group in power must keep that in mind. The United States will NOT endure forever. The march of history eventually levels every mountain to the ground. But let the danger be on the outside--not within. Let the people be united in values for the sake of the good life we are all leaving for our kids. Let us not create aliens on the inside. And let us hold as much as possible to the ideal that ALL people have certain fundamental rights. If the present Administration would acknowledge this and do a better job of selling the sizzle instead of strutting the steak, there would be far less antagonism and schizophrenia generated.

This political chasm that divides people on SI and creates segregationism, censureship, and toadism is a rather eery presentiment of our future. If fundamentalist Islam alienates us from one another within our shores, then we are all "aliens" to one another--and a barbaric and savage mindlessness will have toppled the greatest moral edifice of history.

Bush may well have been right for the time--whether his mistakes were few or many. But what is needed now is a leader who can unite the American people. It doesn't matter from what party. America must be united. Who is that leader? Don't know...
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