Who's Next?

So normally, if I get my political undies in a wad over something I read, I give a little synopsis of whatever I read, maybe because I expect the American attention span is all of 30 seconds long these days. This time, I'm not doing it. Click the link and read it. I'm personally asking you a favor, please. Click this and read the whole thing.

Being an advocate for civil liberties isn't very popular. If you're really enthusiastic about the fourth amendment, most people don't really understand why. Why should we care about the unchecked growth of executive power? What a boring topic. Tell me about the latest celebrity hook-up instead.

My line of reasoning when I have to explain why I do care is that its a slippery slope. First, the executive branch goes after "them" over "there". And we don't care. They're not Americans anyway. Then they go after the guy "over there" who may be American, but he's probably a terrorist. And we don't care. He doesn't love his country like us anyway. Then they go after the guy who tried to tell the truth about all the things the executive had to do to continue his fight with "them, over there." And we don't care. He's probably endangering troops anyway. And then they go after the guys who tries to help the guy who tries to tell the truth about what the executive had to do to continue to fight "them over there." Is it starting to sound like the old lady who swallowed a fly yet? Who's next? Your humble blogger perhaps?

Maybe you think wikileaks is an abomination. Maybe you think Bradley Manning is a monster. That's fine by me. I feel the same way about the KKK. But if someone wants to support the KKK, verbally or financially, we'd all agree they have a constitutional right to do so without having their property confiscated and their persons detained and interrogated by Federal armed officers without charges or warrants or the right to a lawyer.

Maybe the Orwellian nightmare where absolutely no dissenting opinion to Federal power is tolerated won't be seen in our lifetime, but I'm not sure sure about our children. They may very well grow up in a country where they can't speak their mind without fear of political intimidation and violence.

When I was a kid, I never really understood why Jesus kept saying in the gospel of Matthew, "let those who have ears hear!" Why did he keep saying that? It seemed so simplistic it was almost meaningless. And now I feel like I know EXACTLY what he meant. Take your head out of the sand, look around you, and use the brain God gave you. Some $&*%^ is going down and if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!