-Caveat Lector- The War on Freedom
"As part of the country's war against terrorism, the Bush administration by next month wants to recruit a million letter carriers, utility workers and others whose jobs allow them access to private homes into a contingent of organized government informants." – Washington Times If you haven't read the story yet, the Washington Times is reporting on President Bush's new 'Terrorism Prevention and Information System' [TIPS.] It will recruit about 4% of Americans to essentially spy on the rest of us as a means to somehow prevent terrorism. As some of you know, I have alluded to this sort of thing many times in past columns. Apparently the risk of public outrage over such a despotic proposal is now minimal for reasons I need not repeat, making it therefore politically safe to reveal the devilish details to the mainstream media without fear of fallout. I am reminded of the 1953 war drama, Stalag 17, starring William Holden and Peter Graves where an English-speaking German spy is covertly placed within the ranks of US soldiers being held in a prisoner of war camp during WWII. When rumors begin circulating that a spy is among them, paranoia ensues, tempers flare, accusations fly and imaginations run wild throughout the barracks as everyone recklessly attempts to determine just who the cowardly snitch is. It eventually leads to an innocent party [Holden] getting publicly maligned and nearly beaten to death. The real spy [Graves] joins the enraged mob against the accused while continuing his secret signals and reports to the Nazis – that is, until he gets caught in the end. Besides being unconstitutional and un-American, snooping on innocent people in a free society is cowardly, divisive and just plain evil. Regardless of whether or not President Bush's motives are honorable the fact remains that in tattle tailing for the federal government, anyone with a personal grievance against another individual or group could literally wreak havoc on them with such powers. Needless to say, the potential for tragedy and abuse is huge. How secure do you think you are going to feel in this escalating 'War on Terrorism' burdened with the grim knowledge that you're always going to be watched by someone somewhere reporting your personal activities, conversations and correspondence to an unaccountable hierarchy that, in the interest of 'Homeland Security', has the legal authority to take from you whatever they want, anytime they want, without so much as a warrant or a knock on the door. Rent a copy of Stalag 17 some evening and you'll see for yourself what happens to people under this kind of oppression. It's not pretty. They may call this ongoing battle a 'War on Terrorism' but I assure you, if anything, it is a war on freedom. I have said for years now that America is gradually becoming itself a concentration camp where personal privacy and liberty are attacked daily using crisis, disinformation and propaganda for the purpose of instilling just enough fear and paranoia into society to turn the 'fruited plain' into fertile ground for the tares of tyranny. Only days after the towers fell President Bush began a strange line of rhetoric that said the threat of terrorism was a threat to our freedom and that we needed to go to war indefinitely to protect that freedom. But, you see – terrorists don't want your freedom – they want your life. It is tyrants and dictators that want your freedom. Buildings may crumble and fall around us from acts of terror but we are still free to walk amid the smoking rubble. It just takes faith and courage - things that God, not government gives. However, when we willingly surrender our inalienable rights over to political opportunists with Christian claims and patriotic promises it is THEN and ONLY THEN that we are in danger of losing our freedom – not when planes fly into buildings. ©2002 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for Ether Zone [http://etherzone.com] he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on current events. Mr. Proctor may be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -end article- ----------------------- -iNFoWaRZ America doesn't need to become the Taliban in order to fight the Taliban. Government is about coercion. Limiting government is the single most important instrument for guaranteeing liberty. We're working on a third generation which has little in the way of education about what our Constitution means and why it was written. Thus, we've fallen easy prey to charlatens, quacks, and hustlers. -Dr. Walter Williams <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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