Letter to My Congressional Representatives

I wrote the following letter to my Congressional representatives regarding the ever-growing abuses of the Civil Rights of American everywhere in the ongoing War on Terror."

"I am growing extremely concerned at the growing tide of governmental abuses against the civil liberties of Americans everywhere.

The Constitution guarantees certain freedoms and liberties to every citizen; yet with the advent of the so-called "War on Terror," Congress seems to be turning a perpetual blind eye to the infringements we are seeing every day.

The 4th Amendment guarantees freedom against unlawful search and seizure; yet the TSA is conducting these millions of times a day at our nations airports. Every US citizen that has the temerity to fly via commercial airline is suspected of being a criminal (or, having criminal intent) without a shred of evidence-- and are subjected to unwarranted searches by either body scan or physically intrusive pat downs. How is this allowed without trampling on the Constitution?

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on NY and DC, Americans can seemingly no longer go about their lives in anonymity due to the explosive proliferation of security cameras that appear nearly everywhere including parks, businesses, sidewalks, etc. Since when did my desire to live my life as an American citizen, unencumbered by governmental oversight, become a threat to national security so much that I am almost constantly watched or monitored by some means? Where is the Constitutionality of a seemingly evolving police state?

Then today, it was announced by the Dept. of Homeland Security, that WalMart management is going to encourage its consumers to report any suspicious behavior [by other shoppers] to the police or other law enforcement agencies. This move, endorsed by the Dept. of Homeland Security, smacks of historical totalitarian dictatorships such as the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany; and, it is reflective of the fear mongering created by the McCarthy trials of the 1950's. Citizens spying on citizens, and reporting them to police? The United States is on a dangerously slippery slope, and the Constitution is beginning to teeter on the edge.

The following are quotes by a few of our Founding Fathers regarding the very situation the United States finds itself in today...

"The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free
men or slaves."
-George Washington

"It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it."
-George Washington

"Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people."
-John Adams

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security."
-Benjamin Franklin

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
-George Washington

"Even peace may be purchased at too high a price."
-Benjamin Franklin

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
-George Washington

The Founding Fathers correctly foresaw the dangers of the removal of freedoms. They perceived the very dangerous ground we now tread upon were the Constitution and Bill of Rights to be ignored or trampled under foot in the name of "security."

Please, as my Congressional Representative, I implore you to speak out against the Federal Agencies and Congressional Acts that are openly violating the freedoms of every American citizen not only in your District, but across the whole of the United States as well.

This madness that is happening in the name of "the War on Terror" has got to stop. Al Qaeda and all the other terrorist groups have already won their little war as freedoms are whiled away in the name of security. The more freedoms we lose, the greater their victory.

Please, speak out against this blatant trampling of Civil Rights. The price we will pay, as a country and a society, is far too great should the current climate be allowed to continue."

I encourage everyone reading this to write, call or email your Congressmen/women if you are as alarmed by what is happening the trampling of our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. Nothing will ever change if ordinary citizens stand on the sidelines and silently accept the abuses that are happening now, and have yet to transpire--which they most assuredly will based on recent history. If you think your voice is inconsequential, you are absolutely wrong! Speak up! Encourage others to speak up, too! Every voice counts! Please...Speak up!