Bite Your Tongue

With all that is going on in the country scandal wise, it is hard to just choose one on which to focus. But, I will try. This lack of privacy we’ve been joking about for years has become truth. Unbelievably, some are okay with it. They say it is necessary and all that rot. Fighting terror... blah, blah, blah.

I have two words: Downward Spiral. Well, I do have more than just two, but I digress.

There are those who say, “I have nothing to hide.” Is that the point? Do we need something to hide to want to keep our lives private? People do not install fences around their properties because they want to do something nefarious in their backyards. We want to choose what we share with others, not be forced to stand naked in town square. Well, at least that way we would know that we were naked in town square. The problem is that all of us are being treated like criminals. Unless we go to the airport, we do not know that every inch of our lives is being scrutinized. Our Constitutional rights are being cast aside.

We fight for our First Amendment rights when it comes to saying whatever crap spews from our mouths. When it comes to saying what is on our minds politically, we are ridiculed, demeaned or otherwise shouted into submission. Where is the solidarity when a reporter is being charged as a criminal to shut him up? Why are people happy when certain groups get targeted because of their beliefs?

Some are out there who believe that the other side (political or social or whomever) is the enemy. They retch vitriol and hatred towards others. And this is all okay because it is deemed their right to free speech. But it is only free speech for them, not for the enemy. Double standards abound when it comes to all citizens’ Constitutionally protected rights. Such and such is okay for us, but not for them.

What happens when terrorism is defined as an ideology different than whose ever is considered the norm? What happens when all this seemingly innocuous information is used to incriminate in the name of fighting however terror is being defined?

If we bite our tongues and put our heads down, this will not go away. We will not get back what has been lost. We will lose more and more faster and faster. Whether we like it or not, a civil war has begun.

Ostrich mentality has overtaken us. Americans have become complacent. We have allowed others to think for us because it is easier. We do not want to deal with anything. We have permitted the United States to morph from a Republic to an Oligarchy. All we ever do is shrug our shoulders and say, “What are ya gonna do?” Have we forgotten that we have the power? I assure you that they have not.

Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword. That is why oppressive governments around the world have fought so hard to silence dissent. Ideas are weapons. They spread like wildfire. They change the world. They will only be stagnant if we bite our tongues.

Call or write your Congress Rep and Senator.  Tell them what you really think. Remind them that they work for you.