- I love America.
-
- I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for
- that individual liberty is held above the objectives of government -
that, as Washington and Jefferson said, America imparts good will toward
all and threatens no one - that this country is so big-hearted and prosperous
it can welcome people from all over the world fleeing oppression or poverty.
-
- I love the Bill of Rights - the most noble document ever
written to define the limits that government should obey.
-
- I love the concepts of free speech, absolute privacy
and religious freedom embodied in our traditions and our Constitution.
-
- I love the rule of law - the right of accused persons
to confront their accusers, the right to an attorney, the right to remain
silent, the right to refuse admission to government officials wanting to
enter your home or office.
-
- These are just some of the things that have made America
unique in the history of the world. They are a direct cause of America's
prosperity, of our security, of what makes America attractive to so many
would-be immigrants.
-
- The "hate America" crowd
-
- Unfortunately, too many Americans seem to have little
love for that America.
-
- They are quite willing to throw away the concepts I've
described - in order to satisfy a lust for revenge against the September
terrorists.
-
- They're willing to abandon our cherished liberties -
giving the government the power to do anything it wants. They assume -
falsely - that such invasions of liberty and privacy won't affect themselves,
even though the history of government demonstrates that what's applied
against suspected terrorists today will be applied against innocent Americans
tomorrow.
-
- They're willing to abandon free speech - wanting to shut
up those who don't join in the rah-rah cheering as President Bush abandons
the essence of what made America unique and great.
-
- They're willing to abandon the rule of law and transform
America into a police state - where any law-enforcement agency, military
court or intelligence agency can act as prosecutor, judge and jury to decide
your future.
-
- They're willing to let innocent Americans die - by encouraging
our government to bomb innocent foreigners at will, almost guaranteeing
that there will be further terrorist attacks against us.
-
- They're willing to continue transforming what was once
a worldwide love of America into a hatred for America - caused by the correct
perception that American presidents believe they can force any foreign
nation to do their bidding.
-
- They make no objection when congressmen pass bills -
without reading them first or having any idea what's actually in them -
bills that take away your liberties, pile more government debt on your
family, and give the president the power to do whatever he wants, as though
he were a Roman emperor.
-
- Words and deeds
-
- These people may not actually hate America. They may
even profess to love
- America, but they show no understanding of what made
America the precious
- nation it is. Here is what some of their sentiments amount
to:
-
- * Contrary to the American respect for peace-loving people,
they
- think our hurt entitles us to hurt others - even people
who didn't hurt us.
- * Contrary to the American tradition of individual responsibility,
- they want to treat all Afghans as though they're bin
Laden, and all Iraqis
- as though they're Saddam Hussein - making no distinction
between the
- innocent and the guilty.
- * Contrary to the American ideal of individual liberty,
they think
- freedom may be a nice concept but state security is more
important.
- * Contrary to the American tradition of independent thought,
they
- assert that questioning your government is unpatriotic,
paranoid and
- tantamount to treason.
- * Contrary to the distrust of government that marked
the Constitution
- and the Bill of Rights, they think that - despite all
the mistakes our
- government has made - allegiance to the fatherland is
your highest duty.
- * Contrary to the American way of good will toward all,
they
- acknowledge that America is being transformed into an
armed fortress, but
- say that's the price we must pay to be a superpower.
-
- Those aren't the sentiments of people who recognize what
made America the most attractive place on earth to live. But in the supreme
irony, these people label those who protest against the destruction of
American ideals "America-haters."
-
- Where do you stand?
-
- Do you love America?
-
- If so, isn't it time you spoke out on behalf of America
- before the president and Congress take away the rest of what made this
the land of the free?
-
- Or are you just as happy to see America transformed into
one more bureaucratic warrior state, like so many of those in Europe and
Asia?
-
- I love America - the one symbolized by the Statue of
Liberty - the America that was the beacon of liberty, providing light and
hope and inspiration to the entire world. I want that America back.
-
- The war-mongers may say they're patriotic Americans,
but they're willing to discard everything unique about America in order
to satisfy their lust to avenge the September tragedy.
-
- The desire for revenge is understandable. But the rush
to permanently abandon the wonders of America to satisfy a temporary rage
is not. ___
-
- Harry Browne, Libertarian presidential candidate in the
2000 election, is
- the director of public policy at the American Liberty
Foundation. More of
- his articles can be read at HarryBrowne.org, and his
books are available at
- HBBooks.com.
-
- © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/
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