The politics of fear

I am amazed by the state of American politics today. The primary political philosophy of our Republican leaders seems to be that of fear. That fear appears to be so strong that our leaders are willing to sacrifice all freedoms in the name of calming their own fear. I believe fear is the primary difference between Republicans and Democrats in our country.

Now you might be thinking, "they took down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, of course I'm afraid." I hear that. I understand that. I work three blocks from the White House. My company can't buy certain insurance policies because our location is too high of a risk for a terrorist strike. But if our response to the terrorists is to fundamentally alter the way we live our lives; if the response to the terrorists is to fundamentally re-prioritize our values; if the response to the terrorists is to run and hide then the terrorists will have already won.

I am fearful that the terrorists have already beat George W. Bush.

Look at what the President has asked of our country. His administration has asked that we sacrifice some of our most fundamental values and liberties. He wants the ability to listen in on the private conversations of Americans without so much as even the approval of a special court that largely acts as a rubber stamp. He wants the ability to hold prisoners of war outside the constricts of international law. He has argued in favor of the right to torture prisoners of war. His government has allowed prisoners – many of them innocent individuals to be tortured and humiliated. The Bush administration has gone out of their way to try to deny due process to individuals accused of serious crimes against our country.

We ask our soldiers to stand and fight to protect Americans and American values. They do an important job. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced their Commander-In-Chief knows what American values are. Karl Rove ought to give the President a copy of the Constitution to read.