The current domestic struggle is over nothing less, I would argue, than democracy itself. We Americans have long been proud of our rights and freedoms, and repeatedly declared a willingness to die for those things. But now we have a Director of National Intelligence (the guy Bush referred to as "Mr. DNI"), Michael McConnell, who says we have to stop even debating oversight of spying, even on Americans, because otherwise, "some Americans are going to die."
Wasn’t it Patrick Henry who said, "Give me liberty or give me death?" No stinkin’ terrorists would have scared him. Would he have approved of McConnell saying, "Give me your liberty or you’re gonna die?" Probably would have ended in a duel.
I guess McConnell and his Republican friends really do think their fellow Americans are a bunch of namby-pambies. Maybe they should try asking Americans a basic question: Would you prefer to keep the rights guaranteed by the Constitution even in the face of an increased terrorism threat, or give up those rights in return for a possible decrease in the threat? Or how about: Are you so scared of terrorism that you will stop being American to save yourself?
As for me, well, I believe our rights and freedoms define being American. I’d rather keep that. I don’t believe that giving them up will really make anybody safer.
Besides, if we no longer have the freedoms of the American Constitution, what can we call ourselves? Oh, wait a minute. I know: Republicans.
