[Topical USA-centric stuff in this post. Links go to items current as of this writing; in the future, they may not reveal the same information as was available when I wrote this.]
The ACLU has a few interesting alerts going at the moment. I took advantage of the links and notified my representatives of my opinions on several of these issues.
Senator Neal Hunt is the only one who has replied, and it was actually a personal reply (although possibly written by a staffer):
I'll do what I can as long as it does not interfere with our efforts to find and arrest terrorists.
This left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, someone actually replied to me. On the other hand, the reply seems to indicate that perhaps the Senator feels it appropriate to sacrifice the Constitutional protections of his constituents in the interest of maybe finding someone who might be a terrorist.
Not one to leave well enough alone, I responded:
Thank you for your reply. You raise an interesting point.
If it should come to consideration of a measure that might help to find and arrest terrorists, but will definitely infringe on the rights of citizens, what do you anticipate your position will be?
Phrased that way, of course, and given the tone of my original message and this reply, there's only one sensible response for the Senator to make. So let's see which way the frog jumps. If he responds in any reasonable (i.e., non-knee jerk platitude-spouting) way, you can bet he'll get kudos from me.
'Find and arrest terrorists,' forsooth. The new cloak behind which totalitarians can advance their agenda — "for your own good," of course.
Here's a news flash, Washington: Some of the citizens of this country don't want cradle-to-grave government protection — and certainly not at the expense of their Constitutional guarantees. I'm among them. Protect the Constitution as you have sworn to do; care for the citizenry's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and don't get the rest of the world pissed off at us.
That should consume about 100% of your time. Extend to the citizenry the trust that they can protect themselves at need. The third plane failed to hit the trade centre towers not because of any act of Congress, but because of the bravery and commitment of citizens.
Actually, Senator Hunt answered me with unexpected candour. He said that as long as the measure didn't infringe on our rights in any significant way, he'd still vote in favour of it.
Very surprising, since he was clearly responding to a rabid libertarian. He didn't do the standard pol thing and tell me what I wanted to hear. I don't know if he's a lost cause or not, or whether he can be shown that *all* rights are significant, and that repeated whittling away eventually leaves you with nothing, but at least he seems to have the courage of his convictions.
So my hat's off to you, Senator Hunt; I may not like your position, but I respect your integrity. There's clearly at least one spine to be found in the Senate.
2005-05-31 2:30 pm