lumière des étoiles

The Whole of the Law
2004-06-29 12:47 p.m.

Say what thou wilst about Michael Moore and his new documentary, Farenheit 9/11. An inescapable fact which emerges in the film (and my emphasis on "fact" comes from the often justifiable charge that Moore colors and alters the truth to fit his agenda), however, is our return to McCarthy era-fears of "anti-patriotism". So some of us have problems with the term "evil-doers" because we understand how that oversimplifies and "dumbs down" an intensely complex situation wrought with issues of religious fundamentalism and cultural diversity. Does that mean we qualify as terrorists?

Of course not, to the logical mind. But minds grow illogical in war time, according to many psychologists and sociologists - one of whom is Laurence LeShan:

"There are three ideas that, when they appear in society, should be regarded as signals that we are moving toward war, and that strong action must be taken against this drift:

The idea that there is a particular enemy nation that embodies evil, and that if it were defeated, the world would become paradise. (The latter part of this statement is the crucial danger signal. The first part may well be true—as with Hitler’s Germany.)

The idea that taking action against this enemy (now the enemy) is the path to glory and to legendary heights of existence.

The idea that anyone who does not agree with this accepted wisdom is a traitor."

Have liberal challengers become the new commie pinkos?

On one hand, this is nothing new. Well who really cares, I thought initially; sticks-and-stones and all that, I thought, initially. I can deal with someone launching ignorant insults.

On the other, we fell into dangerous places the last time this happened, and McCarthy and his anti-communist lackeys managed to get people jailed, deported, and blacklisted for reasons that would never hold up in a court now. I mean really, we couldn't make those mistakes again, right?

Right?

It didn't hit me how fast this new witch-hunt mentality was affecting public policy until I saw Moore's film this weekend. Two things stand out: a random old guy in Washington State was quite vocal about his dislike for the president and opposition to the war. In fact, he seemed to allow some sympathy for the families of terrorists or for the systematic, destitute conditions in which terrorists are produced. The man would discuss these issues at the gym, which he visited daily. The man thought nothing of these discussions until one day, the FBI knocked on his door and raided his house. Finding nothing, they left, but have kept a "suspicious eye" on him ever since. He's on a list somewhere as a potential terrorist.

A peace-action activist group in California, full of soccer moms, school teachers, veterans, and college students, whose agenda focused around protesting the war and writing letters to senators and congressmen, were infiltrated by a local "anti-terrorist task force" cop posing as an interested activist. For weeks, this man attended meetings, held signs adorned with anti-war slogans and signed off on those letters to the White House. Accidentally, a group member stumbled across him elsewhere, and realized that he was only "posing" as a pacifist for the purposes of spying, or "keeping tabs on", this group of people - of "potential terrorists".

Are they kidding?

The Patriot Act, passed seamlessly to the delight of the extreme right, allows the government to do things we think only OTHER governments do. Your medical records, your phone calls, your credit card statements are currently accessible to anyone "official". Who cares, I hear so many people say, I have nothing to hide.

Oh really? Neither do I. I do nothing wrong, according to the laws that govern our country. Except, I've come dangerously close to being arrested at protest marches before. I have friends who have served jail time for their "civil disobedience". I have friends whose radical political beliefs include theoretical violent overthrow of the government, though in reality they themselves are not violent or dangerous people. Oh, and I often speak out, and criticize those aspects of public policy which I feel are oppressive in front of entire classes or groups of people. It would be very easy for one of my disgruntled students to "rat me out" as a "potential terrorist" to someone "official", who then would have the right to access my entire life - my medical records, my travel history (oh gosh, I've been in Morocco! No doubt I was in on plotting some of these attacks!), my friendships, my career records, my phone calls. You see, under the Patriot Act, I have no rights.

In fact, we have been detaining American Citizens (and non-American citizens, for that matter), without even charging them - just cause we feel like they're "potential threats". Many of the detainees at Guantanamo, for example, are just being "held indefinitely" because of a new set of rules that are in strict violation of the Geneva Convention. How far Western Arrogance can go never ceases to amaze me. Why do we feel above those laws?

Under these new rules, prisoners don't have to be told why they're being held, or for how long. Prisoners don't have the right to inform their families of their whereabouts. They don't have the right to have a judge, court, or lawyer intervene on their behalves. Our government could keep them there for the next fifty years, under the new rules that the current administration was so desperate to pass.

It's easy to think all of the above is ok when we picture these prisoners as people who want to commit mass murder, or as evil, violent terrorists who were trying to blow up airplanes. But what if they quickly become someone who said the "wrong" thing around the wrong people? What if, like me, they signed their name to some petition that wound up in the wrong hands? I'm starting to doubt our judicial system's ability to tell the difference.

My friend Barbara was hurt when the NY Post called her one of the "Top Ten Most Un-American Americans" for something scathing remark she made about W. and his Imperialist policies on Sept. 14, 2001. I guess out of "respect", and like a "good girl", she was supposed to keep her mouth shut during such a time, dutifully following the leader. We tried to soothe her, but it was pointless - it was a hurtful remark, especially when aimed at someone who cares for people and humanity so deeply.

You see she's a rather public figure and a well known scholar, and has quite a reputation as an agitator, quite a reputation as a challenger. Now what if someone wanted to bring her down? Would they start by arresting her friends? Under these new laws, I wouldn't have to be told why I'm being arrested, and my family might not know what happened to me. I'd be asked to sign an already-prepared statement declaring my friend a terrorist, I'm sure. And if I refused? I could remain jailed for the rest of my life, my family never knowing what happened to me.

If you think I'm being dramatic, read a history book and snap out of that blissful ignorance. It's happened before and it's happening now.

I wish I was being melodramatic. When that possibility entered my own mind, it was almost soothing in a weird way - if I was just exaggerating these fears, it would mean that our current political situation isn't that bad. But after hearing how hard our court systems have had to fight just to gain the smallest rights back for those prisoners at Guantanamo, and hearing how many people are on "watch" lists who are merely just exercising their right to protest, I'm not so sure I'm "blowing things out of proportion".

This is all very cyclical, too, unfortunately; if the US feels it's above Geneva convention regulations, why shouldn't other countries. As a traveler, if I get erroneously arrested in another country, what will those who've imprisoned me say? "Why should we give you any rights?", they might say, "Your country does not give our citizens any rights". I can't say they'd be wrong, either.

We have to move away from this "it doesn't affect me, so I don't care" mentality. It's highly toxic, not to mention contagious. I think I'll go hide under my couch for a while.

xo,