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Had any of its supporters even read the un-Patriotic Act before embracing this Orwellian, star-spangled subversion of the Cunstitution? Does anyone really believe that overzealous flag waving and boisterous choruses of "God Bless America" are valic substitutes for historical perspective or critical thought?
The threat of terrorism is not in dispute. A greater threat is George W. Bush's cynical attempt to convince the public that freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are a luxury that we, the self-proclaimed patron saints of democracy, can no longer afford. This legislation is nothing more than a thinly veiled ploy to impose martial law in the name of national security. It is a tactic that has been used by tyrants and their collaborators throughout history.
Those who think that it can't happen here are living on the wrong side of the reality tracks. It's already happening. According to the Bush/Ashcroft doctrine of "innocent until we say otherwise," the dissenter of today can easily become the enemy combatant—or prisoner—of tomorrow. The rule of law will no longer apply.
This is a rouge regime that promotes military aggression for the alleged purpose of
planting the seeds of democracy abroad, while grinding its flower into mulch in the
"land of the formerly free." It's time to get back to our own garden.
—Robert Baruch
Santa Barbara Independent Newspaper, May 15, 2003, p. 9
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