Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof

This blog spawned from a book I was reading for a philosophy class.

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of a man named Randy Weaver, I know I hadn't before reading this book. I won't go into extravagant details about him, but the basic idea is that this man was kept under constant surveillance by the government for almost two years, until eventually armed marshals, who had been hiding in the woods around his house in camouflage, shot his son's dog without provocation which prompted return fire from the 14 year old boy, who was then shot in the arm. While he tried to flee back home, he was shot in the back and killed. At this point Weaver's friend began to fire on these unknown, unannounced strangers who had just shot and killed a dog and a 14 year old boy, and he actually killed one of the marshals.

Because of this, the government sent in dozens and dozens of FBI agents and snipers to surround the house. While Randy, his 12 year old daughter, and friend went out to a shack they had stored their sons body in to pay respects, the snipers shot Randy in the arm, and while attempting to run back into the house, the sniper shot his wife Vicki (who was holding their 8month old baby) through the head, killing her instantly, and the shot also went through to his friend, puncturing his lung and delivering a fatal wound.

After Randy finally surrendered, he was arrested and immediately put on trial for the murder of a federal officer. Randy, who had shot nobody. A man whose only crime was that he was maybe a member of the Aryan Nation (not actually a crime), and because of this, he was entrapped by his own government in an attempt to make him a spy on a group he did not even belong to. Simply because his religious and personal beliefs did not reflect those of the majority, his wife, son, and friend were murdered by the very men who are supposed to protect them. The media portrayed him as a skinhead, white supremacist, anti-Semitic cop killer who barely deserved a fair trial. Not only this, but the prosecution in his trial called for the death penalty.

If this does not horrify you, then perhaps I have failed to adequately relate this story, in which case I will suggest you read the book "From Freedom to Slavery" by Gerry Spence.

This book was a grim reminder that I dislike the way things are going. While I am still obviously living in a free country, as I am writing this blog without any real fear of governmental agents abducting me in the middle of the night, I don't necessarily see that as such a ridiculous notion as I once did. When I was younger I remember being told how free I was, to be living in America. Now I can have my phones tapped, my emails read, my regular mail read, my history of books that I have checked out at the library can be searched, and who knows what else. All without my knowledge, and all without reason. Sure, I have nothing to hide, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't have the right to hide my nothing.

Unfortunately, it seems that not very many people seem to feel like I do, or care that our rights and freedoms are slowly being taken away. Or maybe they don't notice. Maybe everyone is so afraid of terrorists that they cannot be troubled to worry about whether or not they can take their finger nail clippers on the airplane with them.

And why is everyone still so afraid of the terrorists? Do they honestly think that the liberties we're giving up are making us any safer? That because my shoes get X-rayed in an airport there won't be any more violence on airplanes?

In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech it seems painfully obvious that no matter what we do we aren't going to be completely safe, and what we're doing is not helping. But it is making us afraid. Always afraid. Do not think me callous or evil, this is a tragedy what has happened. I grieve for the families and friends of all the victims. But it was only 32 people who died. In 2005 over 43,000 people died in motor vehicle related deaths. Why are we suddenly so afraid of schools or people with guns but show almost no fear of climbing behind the wheel of a car? Less than one eighth of that 43,000 died almost six years ago on September 11th, and we are still afraid of the terrorists. We are still willing to give up our rights to protect ourselves from the terrorists.

We live in a State of Fear, to steal the title of a Michael Crichton book. We are controlled by our fear, we are consumed by it. It keeps us quiet and complacent while the very things that once made us Americans are slowly taken away. There is a uniquely American quote that we all heard in our history classes, but it seems to have faded from memory. Something said long ago by Patrick Henry. "Give me Liberty or give me death".

I will leave you with a quote from the book I mentioned before.

"The enemies of freedom are not the fringes and the radicals and the crazies or those who want to own guns. We are the enemy. Our fear is the enemy - our fear that would allow a couple of lunatic bombers at Oklahoma City to corner two hundred and fifty million of us with fear, in response to which and in exchange for the bald promise of protection, we are petitioned by the government to abdicate our freedom and renounce our sacred rights as free people. [...] Eternal vigilance is still the price of freedom, eternal vigilance, and today, more than ever, courage. For now, as always, it takes courage to remain free."

3 comments:

StayJay said...

What a shocking story. Now, what would you do about it?

Adge said...

About what? About Randy Weaver? About the loss of social liberties? The general apathy of the public? That's actually an excellent question, and one that has occupied a fair amount of my think-time. It's also a pretty lengthy response, so I think I will draft it up as a new blag

StayJay said...

Looking forward to reading it.