During Fall Break, I spent a considerable amount of time standing in line clutching my laptop under one arm and two well-worn shoes under the other. With my plane ticket in hand, I plodded toward the security checkpoints in holey, mismatched socks.
I don’t know what a shoe bomb is, the magnitude of its destructive powers or what shoe works best for detonation. I’ll remove my footwear, and sure, I’ll even toss out that $35 bottle of moisturizer. I’m no expert in airport safety, so if you tell me exfoliating beads pose an unacceptable threat to our national security, I’ll bite.
The point is that safety, security and peace of mind are important to everyone. I’m willing to sacrifice a little dignity at the airport to ensure that my plane doesn’t fall from the sky in a fiery blaze.
However, I become considerably less accommodating as this administration continually parlays that understanding and compromise into countless violations of our constitutional rights.
A couple years ago, Americans learned that technology had taken a giant step backwards. We got cars to do the parallel parking for us, but our phones had become party lines once more. Only this time, it wasn’t a nosy neighbor listening in. It was the National Security Administration — without warrants. Why? Well, in the name of security, of course.
I don’t have enough available inches to explain why this rape of the democratic process sickens me so, but it suffices to say, the debate is years old. Luckily, this old favorite has been resurrected in the past week, thanks to an upcoming congressional bill that might or might not hold the involved telecommunications companies responsible for their part in wiretapping their own customers.
In a continuation of his torrid love affair with big business, President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that doesn’t provide blanket immunity to these telecom corporations. The president insists that the companies, which include AT&T and Verizon, would be bankrupted by an onslaught of lawsuits without this congressional protection.
The members of Congress in support of a measure of accountability are simply requesting that the details of the eavesdropping scandal be declassified in order to assess the companies’ level of involvement before protections can be added. However, this completely legitimate and appropriate caveat is being roadblocked by the Bush administration.
The White House has been chipping away at the fundamental freedoms that are not only guaranteed to American citizens, but that are the foundation upon which this nation was built.
Our commander in chief knows there’s one sure way to weasel out of this one — remind your constituents that they’ll be dead by morning if they dissent. Keep beating the drum of imminent attack, and somebody’s bound to fold. Forget money, forget sex, forget spite — fear is the greatest motivator. McCarthy knew it then, and Bush knows it now.
I guess these telecom behemoths are so innocent, there’s just no need to look at potentially damning evidence. An enviable defense, I’ll admit. I’ll give it a shot with my next parking ticket.
