When they met in the days before the war, they knew their words and actions were treason. They were contemplating declaring war on the world�s only superpower, the country that they depended on, a war they had no reasonable expectation of winning; and yet they affixed their names boldly to documents that would seal their doom if they lost. Can you imagine the guts it took to do that? I can�t. I hope I never have to. And yet, armed with their idealism and the vision of a better, more free way of life, they signed. For this idea of a new sort of government, a government limited by the people�s power, they put their lives at stake. Had the other side won that war, we�d be calling them traitors; because the ones who signed on won we call them the Founding Fathers of the USA.
It is clear what kind of government they wanted. They wanted a government that ruled with the consent of the people, rather than by the so-called �divine right of kings.� They wanted a government that couldn�t stop you for no reason, search you for no reason, lock you up in a secret prison without telling you the charges. They wanted a government that would have to treat every person fairly, would allow everyone to say whatever the hell they wanted and believe whatever the hell they wanted. This vision, the ideal of maximum freedom and guaranteed rights, is still in the hearts of many people today.
Unfortunately, the government is not currently run by these people. George W. Bush has wistfully said several times that his job would be better if he were a dictator. He�s used his office to keep files sealed that rightly belong to the American people; he�s set up a secret justice system that is accountable to no one and begun to concentrate power in the Executive Branch. Does that sound like someone who shares the dream of a government that answers to the people?
The current Attorney General, John Ashcroft, is even scarier. He seems to believe--as did the kings of England--that people in high offices are put there by God, and therefore have a divine right to rule. So whenever he gets appointed to a new office he anoints himself with oil to show that God has favored him. To fight an ambiguous �war on terror,� he wants to increase police power, allowing the Federal government to spy on people whose ideas differ from his--and yet, he will not investigate the possible involvement of right-wing American terrorists in anthrax attacks. He cautions the people to watch what they say, asking not to be criticized because voicing our worries about government power gone out of control �give[s] ammunition to the terrorists.� In other words, if you say you don�t like his policies you�re on the side of the �evildoers� that Bush keeps going on about.
The scariest thing, to me, is that certain people insist on framing this as a war of good against evil. It is the way Bin Laden sees it: he is the good guy taking on the evils of the USA. It is also the way Bush and Ashcroft see it, but with the roles of good and bad guy reversed. The fact that both sides want this to be some kind of larger-than-life, mythic conflict is disturbing; I keep wondering whether both sides wish to bring about some kind of Apocalypse, the ultimate �holy war� which modern civilization may not survive.
The United States of America was born in a war against tyranny, but now the war against terrorism has given tyrannical powers to the Executive Branch, in particular George Bush. I fear that the country that was almost destroyed by King George III may be brought down by the policies of George Bush II, and this time, I don�t know if there will be enough clear minds or brave hearts to begin a Revolution.
Thomas Jefferson said "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it." Though the image of the towers burning is terrifying and sad, the worst way this country could betray the memories of the people who died in the attack would be to turn our back on the dreams of Jefferson and Franklin and the other brave people who met not so long ago to sign their names to a document demanding freedom.
