The Coming of Age for the Orwellian World - 1984
by Michael Tivana ... 9-26-01   - back to Tribal Messenger

I sent this reply to Mr. Yamamoto a beat writer for CNET News. His main thrust was to convince the reader that giving up one's rights to feel more secure is a good thing. And he quotes, "If certain tracking technologies can help federal law enforcement get a step ahead of potential terror groups, I would gladly relinquish some privacy protections that might be compromised in the process". My short reply is, "If I rob your home and come back the next day and sell you an alarm system you would buy the best one you can get right? That's my point".

Dear Mr. Yamamoto,

Be aware of what you are hoping for and the price you are paying to get it? Will changing the laws that rescind our freedom, the laws that thread the basic fabric of our country, really protect you? Will they really stop terrorism?

It frightens me how complacent you are in giving up your rights to the authorities (federal law enforcement). In fact, you are encouraging it. Please realize that these laws do not get changed back once the world is made safe. These laws stay with us as an erosion of our freedoms. The same way that the laws that were thrust upon us in the Reagan 80's are eroding our freedom today. The War on drugs gave us a new system with less freedom. The military will forever be used in police action (now we live in a police state), coerced testimony will forever be acceptable in our court system, the president will forever be able to freeze our bank accounts, change and regulate our currency, limit travel to a passport system and more in times of national emergencies. Bush has declared this a state of war and a national emergency for an indefinite period of time.

I could agree with your logic that we need to give up our rights to fight terrorism as we did to fight the drug wars, given that the drug wars were induced by outside interests; but they weren't. It is a common truth that has been proven in court from the testimony of the perpetrators that the CIA (the Federal Law Enforcement) contributed to the crack cocaine drug mess. http://www.steamshovelpress.com/darkalliance.html Why would this be any different? We have been lied too since the McCarthy era and it is time to make it stop.

I would trust our Federal Law Enforcement as far as fighting terrorists goes but I need to be more convinced that they aren't doing what they did to us in the drug wars the 80's. Are the feds staging a reason to change the laws?

Yes we will end up in an Orwellian state with people like you not questioning but encouraging the citizenry to follow. You as a journalist have a responsibilty to explore the truth - don't be lazy and by all means be courageous when you find it, time is running out.
Thank you, Tivana

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