"What I Believe"

This Friday we have Brad from  Brad's brain writing for Bring it on!.  This post was inspired by his recent vacation through the red states of the United States....

I believe in America. 

I believe in democracy.  And I believe that a rogues' gallery of thieves and hooligans is undermining the values inherent in American democracy to further their own agenda.

I believe that our government represents not the people at all but corporations.  And not in a way that is simply meant to encourage business. 

I believe they have sold control of Washington to the highest bidder.   And I believe the only planet we call home is paying the price.

I believe that anyone who drives an SUV is helping the terrorists.

I believe that violence begets violence.  I also believe that fighting a war on terror with guns is doomed to fail. I believe that September 11, 2001 has shattered what we call America, and I believe that the damage may be irreparable.

I believe that the Bush administration has criminally exploited September 11 for the purpose of furthering the concept of a one-party America and and for the benefit of their associates' corporations.  I believe that the "wise men" that Bush has chosen to support his presidency have planned the concept of "perpetual war for perpetual peace" years in advance, and they cunningly chose to implement this plan when America was on its knees.

I do not believe that this is George W. Bush's fault.   I believe at his heart he really wants to be a "uniter" and that he would be much happier working together with Democrats to come to wise decisions that benefit all of America.  But as president your administration is best defined by who you surround yourself with.  And it is for this reason that I consider President Bush to be an evil man.

I believe that the president's support staff is the most corrupt, manipulative, and downright authoritarian that this nation has ever seen.  They shield the unwitting president from news they do not wish him to see and provide only the information needed to steer the president into supporting legislation which benefits themselves and their friends.  And while Bush honestly feels that he is bettering society, this band of traitorous snakes reaps the fruits of his labor. 

I believe that men like Rumsfeld and Ashcroft, Cheney and Libby, Rove and all the rest are interested in only one thing:  furthering the Republican Party as the only party in the nation.  They stifle dissent by labelling whomever they disagree with as "traitors" or "terrorist sympathizers" or "unpatriotic."  They wish to install a permanent majority so that whoever replaces Bush (or themselves) is simply academic.  The policies they have introduced which fly in the face of all of our civil liberties have become a partisan business, not a product of rational thought.

I believe this is how fascism starts. And I do not believe that it is only Republicans paving the way to this terrible, new form of government.  But I do believe that they are the best at it.

I believe that the press is complicit in this virtual coup d'etat through their silence. 

I believe that the Bill of Rights is the reason that America has survived so many threats to its freedom for so many years.  And I believe that the USA Patriot Act is the first step in a systematic, controlled demolition of the Bill of Rights. 

I believe that the most important of these, the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments have already been declared essentially void by this repressive regime's actions due to their broad definition of "domestic terrorism" to include such constitutionally protected actions as protest movements and civil disobedience.

I believe that if we do not speak now, we will be forced to forever hold our peace.  And that is no longer democracy. I believe that is called fascism.

I believe that nothing that we as Americans use to communicate is off-limits to the new breed of "thought police."  Tracking dissent through wiretaps, internet usage surveillance, and even private traditional mail snooping has been greatly enhanced through the administration's policies to improve the way that we find the terrorists among us.  The same ones who hate our freedoms. From this I can only believe that the administration is fighting terrorism by taking away all of these freedoms that the terrorists supposedly hate. 

I believe these repressive tactics, sold to us as a necessary evil to catch the terrorists, are doing nothing to stop terrorists.  It has only served to hand the government over to a new breed of terrorists.  One person has been charged for involvement with the September 11 attacks.  And he was caught before it happened.

I believe that this assault on our civil liberties will actually make us less safe. With so much of what each American says or does on a daily basis being scrutinized, how many false leads will the homeland security departments follow?  How many man-hours will be wasted by hunting law-abiding citizens?

I also believe that someone involved in these anti-"terrorist" measures is reading this and wasting even more government time. 

And to them, and to all of you, I can say right now that I will not be scared into silence.  If I believe that President Bush is evil, I will say it.  If I believe that the government is turning into a fascist dictatorship, I will say it.  And if I believe that the only recourse we have left as Americans is revolution, I will say that as well.

I believe in the constitution.  It has lasted through presidential assassinations, through invasions, through numerous wars, even through civil war.  And I believe that even these traitors among us will not be able to tear it all down quite as easily as they think.  Not if I have anything to say about it.

In short I believe in America.