What fear couldn't do - August 31, 2004

What al-Qaeda couldn't do, George Bush has accomplished in spades. There is no way any terrorist attacks are going to take away a person's rights. Attacks can only bring fear, they are not legislative actions. Nevertheless, the attacks of September 11th ushered in an era in which the erosion of civil liberties is called patriotic, and necessary for the greater good. What the terrorist couldn't do with fear, George Bush did with the Patriot Act.

Fear can not strip a person of their rights, only men with bad intentions. Fear can not use tragedy for their own benefit, only Presidents with little else to run on can. In these days where the President tells us not to let fear overtake us, not to have it change our lives, we find phantom terror alerts. We have the insecurity of a president that tells us to beware of every little thing. To beware when you cross the street, because a terrorist might run you over. To beware when you fly, because someone might sneeze and spread deadly germs. We are told not to fear, but then also told not to drop our guards, because that's when they get you. Terror alerts do little to help the average person. Those who need to know what these alerts mean are police, fire, and various other government agencies. They serve little useful purpose to the average person, except to instill a sense of total and complete fear.

And that's what this election is really about, fear. Whether we are going to live in a cocoon for the rest of our lives, fighting everyone who isn't on our side. Making others pick whether they are for us, or against us. The world doesn't work that way. The world has become more unified, but also more polarized. In this era we don't need a president that acts unilaterally.

Bush has wielded the 9/11 tragedy to portray himself as a champion of humanity, and as a champion of freedom around the world. Before 9/11 Bush was ineffective, lethargic. Afterwards he was still lethargic. While the economy spun down, his solution was to cut the taxes on the rich. When the search for Bin Ladin yielded nothing, he launched a war on Iraq. Each move creating more of a problem than it supposedly solved. For all of his "accomplishments" now he wishes to be re-elected. No thank you. It's time for a regime change here.