There are real problems and imagined problems. Plenty of real things to worry about... but the sensationalism and fear-mongering used to keep things in people's faces (not to mention get ratings for the media outlets) is just ridiculous.
Meanwhile, our government uses these to tighten the reins:
- US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the US government could "indefinitely" hold foreign 'enemy combatants' at sites like the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.(emphasis is mine. Rest of article is here.)
"We can detain any combatants for the duration of the hostilities," said Gonzales, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"If we choose to try them, that's great. If we don't choose to try them, we can continue to hold them," he said.
Yeah. It's that italicized bit which really gets to me. Cause see, how DO we know when the "Global War on Terror" is over? What exactly are the victory conditions? Because I'm pretty sure there's been terrorism in some aspect or another for, oh I don't know, ALL THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. Or at least acts which could easily be portrayed as terrorism. Patriotism or Terrorism - depends on which side wins, right? That's what's so 1984 about all this... it's Perpetual War. Keep the hostilities going forever and that way you don't HAVE to worry about silly things like personal freedoms, civil rights, etc... because National Security comes first... and the people are scared enough to agree that it SHOULD come first.
It makes me so crazy...
