I Want My Civil Rights …

When 9/11 happened, I was in the middle of a letter to a friend in West Virginia. I wrote that we were really in it now and if we wanted to win this one, we would have to become like our enemy or worse. A few weeks later I wrote a letter to the editor of the Register-Citizen, in which I said that I was beginning to get a different take on the situation. I felt that the attack on the World Trade Center was not the beginning of a master plan against us, but was, in fact, a one-time thing that took so long in planning and executing that there couldn't be a follow-up to it. I thought that they were probably more surprised than we at the final result, that they expected to cause some damage to a few floors and kill a few people—much like when that bomber crashed into the Empire State Building back in the late ‘40s, causing minimal damage. The show of bravado, dancing and firing of rifles in the air was just that—much like the Indians of the Old West counting coup on the white man by riding up to him and hitting him with a stick of some sort, just to show the other Indians how brave he was. But they erred; they wanted to tweak the Tiger's tail, but instead they awoke the Tiger—or should have.

Much like the Japanese in 1941 after bombing Pearl Harbor and having us at their mercy, the bin Laden Muslims or whoever created the havoc at the Trade Center had no invasion plan that would have changed history, but instead allowed us to regroup and recover. In both cases the attackers hit us with a left hook but never followed with the right cross—a no-no in the boxing world. But the situation now is unlike 1941, when the people for the most part came together and gave up many of their privileges like gas, butter, sugar and the better brands of cigarettes, to name a few. Of course there were those who grumbled then, but nothing like today. Today, because of our involvement in global affairs and being handcuffed by the Civil Rights Amendment, we can't respond as we should.

I have never been a big fan of any type of anti-discriminatory laws. I’ve always believed that they were, in effect, discriminatory in concept and that the best way was to let time take care of things. We have evolved to the point we’re at now, and as we evolve further and recognize the wrongs in our thinking, we will correct them in a lasting manner. Has the Miranda decision hampered the police (no matter what you think of them) in their skilled ability to interrogate a prisoner in the "box"? Yes. Has forced integration worked the way they hoped it would? No. Has Title IX, after thirty years, accomplished what was hoped for? No.

Now let’s take the case of Mr. Padilla and his civil rights. Mr. Padilla is being held incommunicado, accused of building a dirty bomb, the purpose of which is obvious since he also has a Muslim name. The Civil Liberties Union has raised its ugly head once again, complaining that he, being an American citizen, is being denied his civil right to be represented by a lawyer. He's being held by the government as, more or less, a prisoner of war. War!! That's something that we're involved in—or have some people forgotten?

I hear many people calling talk radio programs to decry the fact that the government is denying Mr. Padilla his right to an attorney. They say that if we allow this to happen to Mr. Padilla, the government may one day deny us the same right. Hogwash! Talk like this conjures up the ghosts of WWII. I expected to hear this kind of hogwash coming from the mouths of the likes of Lord Haw Haw, Tokyo Rose and the insidious Radio Budapest. Back in WWII talk like this would be considered to be abetting and giving aid to the enemy. I'm sure that our enemy loves hearing about this controversy and dissension. Maybe that's why we have not had another problem with suicide bombers, yet. I'm sure that it wouldn't be too difficult—but why do something to get us all on the same page?

Considering what people had to give up during WWII to insure our final victory, is it asking too much of us to temporally suspend our civil rights? Also, consider the type of conflict that we are now engaged in, which may never end as long as we hamstring our government. We are dealing with people who want nothing of what we have, but who hate us because we are infidels (non-believers) and friends of the hated Jews. Have you heard any Muslim who was born and raised in this country come out against the suicide bombers? Have you seen the interviews with Muslim children who were born here but who are nonetheless going to Muslim schools, as was shown on 60 Minutes some weeks ago? They all think that we created this situation because we back Israel.

Do you understand that we have here in this country a large number of Muslims who are citizens, but who follow the teachings of the Koran? Do you realize the potential danger involved here? Unless the U.S. authorities are allowed a little leeway in investigating the mosques to insure they are not helping or grooming terrorists, how can we ever hope to win?

Can we ever really win? I doubt it. Can we at least defuse the situation so that we suffer only minimal damage, like what Israel has to put up with? Yes, but only if we fight them on their terms, only if we make the sacrifices that are necessary—and one of those sacrifices will have to be the suspension of civil rights of suspected enemies, even though they are citizens. Nothing is perfect in this world and mistakes will be made, but as the general said when told that his planned invasion would cost X number of lives, "I can live with that." So must we live with what must be done. "United we stand, divided we fall" is not just a quote, but a fact of life.

Have we the resolve to see this to the end? Have we gotten so fat and lazy and so in love with our soft life that we don't want to give up anything, especially our Maypo? Have we!?

Now, I am no scholar of great note. I got my high school diploma while in the Marines during WWII, so these are just the opinions of a normal, regular guy who may be full of prunes—but then that may explain this rant. N'est-ce pas?