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The
Patriot Act: Searching for Monsters in the Closet
By Paul A. Ibbetson (A
Copy of this article was published by our good friends at Military
Magazine on April 2006)
When you were young, did you have a monster in your closet? Many a
child has lost sleep to the monster that must certainly reside just
inside the bedroom closet. If you reflect back on your monster, he
probably was the end product of late night horror movies or creative
tales spun with school buddies on late night sleepovers which are all
fun and games with the boys until the monster actually comes to visit
the next night when all your friends are conveniently gone. Now the
thing about the closet monster is that he’s crafty and clever. He won’t
show himself when friends are around and never in the daytime. No, he
waits until your head is turned almost always to something else or
worse, when your sound asleep. The closet monster has power, a power
that can make you freeze for endless moments fearing that any slight
motion might be the deciding factor in whether he will burst from the
closet, which can only end in your certain death, or give you one more
nights reprieve. Thank goodness a magical thing happens somewhere along
the life’s path, we grow up. It does not happen all at once but step by
step we gain perspective about what’s real and what’s not and the
monster looses some of his power. Then on some special night this
gained knowledge bolsters bravery to the point of a confrontation with
the closet door and the monster is exposed for what he really is,
nothing. It would be nice to say that there are no monsters in real
life, but that would not be true. As a nation, America has seen many
monsters in many forms. Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Tojo’s Japan are but
a few examples. America though always diverse in thought and ideas came
together in a united effort to defeat these monsters in a time when
indecision could have cost the country. We are at that crossroads
again. While it is reasonable and logical to draw distinctions from World War II and The War on Terror, look at some of the similarities. Hitler wanted to eliminate all groups of people not fitting the mold of the master Arian race. Al-Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups believe it is their mission to exterminate Israel and its ally, America, which both fall into the category of the Zionist unbelievers. Similarities are evident when looking at the Japanese kamikazes of World War II and the terrorist mentality of today that would propel a personal to fly passenger planes into buildings, let alone strap explosives to ones own body. Yes monsters have been around in the past and walk amongst us today. Hitler’s war walked across Europe taking country after country, forging deadly alliances and double crossing all those naïve to his deadly intentions. Al-Queda, under the leadership of Osama Bin laden repeatedly attacked American interests (e.g. 1993 World Trade Bombing, 1995 U.S.S. Cole Bombing, Tanzania Embassy Bombing,) Osama Bin laden funneled money to terrorist cells around the world for the purpose of Jihad. In 1941, America was struck with a devastating surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. On 2001, America was struck with a devastating surprise attack which surpassed the number of deaths suffered at Pearl Harbor. In both cases the country faced a monster that wanted to destroy us. Unfortunately, America is not dealing with today’s monsters the same way we have in the past. In fact, certain factions within the country would have you believe that the real monsters of today reside in the most illogical of places. Many civil rights groups portray the Patriot Act as this uncontrollable monster that roams the streets eating people’s rights. This despite the fact that after years of usage their have been no documented cases of abuse with the law. In case that slipped by I’ll repeat it NO ABUSES. The Patriot Act has been audited for abuses by many organizations including the ACLU. In fact the Patriot Act has served to move national security forward by leaps and bounds by clarifying ambiguous laws, updating outdated laws, and yes, strengthening some older laws to help in fighting a new type of war. Others have identified the President as the monster for everything from the usage of NSL’s to when the winds blows the wrong way. Any attempt to challenge these naysayers with facts is met with the usual accusations that “fruitful debate” is being quashed. Meanwhile times passes with division, indecision, and worst of all inaction. The failure of the Patriot Act to be renewed after the creation of a compromise package bill was a glaring example of the differences in how many Democrats feel the war on terror should be prosecuted. Surpassing the issue of the Patriot Act renewal, Democrats have set a dangerous precedent in time of war by the actions of the “Coalition of Opposition”. Our enemies are coordinated and motivated. Their agenda is clear, destroy America. The impression given by Congresses’ inability to come together on legislation for fighting terrorism, and the willingness of some to kill the Patriot Act altogether to make political points with fringe liberal groups will be seen by our enemies as a sign of weakness. We know that Hitler advanced on those who appeared weak; we should expect no less from fanatical terrorist groups. Democrats have failed to learn what all children come to terms with, that is, eventually you have to deal with monsters. |