Know Your Enemies!

Rep. Jane Harman [D, CA-36]
Rep. Christopher Carney [D, PA-10]
Rep. Donna Christensen [D, VI-0]
Rep. Yvette Clarke [D, NY-11]
Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]
Rep. Norman Dicks [D, WA-6]
Rep. Al Green [D, TX-9]
Rep. James Langevin [D, RI-2]
Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D, CA-16]
Rep. Nita Lowey [D, NY-18]
Rep. Daniel Lungren [R, CA-3]
Rep. Ed Perlmutter [D, CO-7]
Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2]
Rep. Dave Reichert [R, WA-8]
Rep. Bennie Thompson [D, MS-2]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Norm Coleman [R, MN]

The enemies listed above have done us all the tremendous favor of either sponsoring or co-sponsoring the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R.1955 and S.1959). The ostensible purpose of these travesties are (respectively) “to prevent homegrown terrorism, and for other purposes” and “to establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes”. No…of course I’m not worried about what those “other purposes” might be. Why, are you? Can you say “House Un-American Activities Committee”? This time, instead of “commies”, they want to identify the “extremist belief systems” that could someday lead to violence and homegrown terrorism. I probably have some of those beliefs, so do you, and you, and you way back in the back trying to keep a low profile. Yes, you.

Once the government starts determining which beliefs, attitudes, and opinions could lead to extremism, violence, and homegrown terrorism, I’m sure it will be pretty easy to identify which are the “dangerous” beliefs systems. Then of course, “just to be safe”, maybe we should keep an eye on these folks. You know, just to see where they go, maybe find out who they talk to… Oh yeah, we should also keep track of what they buy, just in case they buy something that they might use to hurt someone. Because we just want to keep everyone safe, right? You know what? Maybe we should just,,,I don’t know…keep these people away from the decent, law-abiding, trustworthy people. Because we’ve noticed that sometimes men and women who have “those beliefs” can be intimidating and even scary. They might even become violent and try to impose their beliefs on the rest of us. True, they probably wouldn’t, but what if they did…then it would be too late.

Of course the law says that we “shouldn’t” violate anyone’s civil rights…but what if they don’t look right (like us), or they give us some lip, or they just act like they aren’t afraid? Maybe they’re terrorists, or maybe they’re potential terrorists. We should probably just declare them enemy combatants. There is a war on terror going on after all. Nobody has to know. Sure someone might wonder why their mother, or father, or brother, or sister, or child disappeared and was never heard from again. But it’s a small price to pay in order for us to feel safer…right?

But we probably don’t have anything to worry about. We can trust the government. After all, our government wouldn’t fabricate an excuse to invade another country like other countries have done…right? And our President wouldn’t sanction torture like the leaders of some other countries might…right? Our government wouldn’t disappear people like some other governments…would it? Please tell me that you don’t really think our government would detain it’s own citizens indefinitely without trial…and spy on them without warrants…and monitor what they say and do.

Anyway, even if our government did do all those things…I’m a law abiding citizen, I don’t have anything to worry about…right?

Oh shit.