9/11

 

I could hear it in the distance.  “The Pentagon is under attack!” A voice exclaimed.

 I could see the destruction, the fire, the rubble. Then in a flash I realized I had been sleeping and that my dreams had been invaded by the panicked expressions of my roommate.

I lunged up and forward from out of bed while my roommate tried to get me up-to-speed though his voice seemed further away now than it had while I slept.

 I rushed into the living room just in time to see an airplane smash into the side of a building. Just in time to realize that this was live television and that the airplane was filled with passengers. Just in time to realize that the building they had hit was apart of the World Trade Centers in New York City. Just in time to realize that this airplane had not been the first to crash.

 We both sat in silence as the devastation and realization of what had just occurred unfolded.

This is a day I will always remember vividly. My heart breaks from the pain that so many so close to the situation have felt and still feel today. I also feel great pride and respect for all of the first responders and all of those who were on the ground helping one another as that attitude is what makes this country so great.

 Unfortunately, there is another reason why I will always remember that day.  Since that day politicians have used that day to infringe upon and expel your natural rights which were to be protected by the Constitution.

 Through the passage of the detrimental PATRIOT Act your elected officials have granted bureaucrats in Washington the ability to bypass the Constitution and to enact unjust laws all under the guise of safety and security.

 But can total safety be obtained through legislation? Can your government grant you complete security? Allow government to take control of all of your activities. Where you go, what you eat, who you see, what you read, what you text, where you spend your money…. Hand over your authority and liberty as an individual and all government would be able to guarantee is a promise of security.

 Not only do politicians use the loss of life to justify the loss of liberty, they also try to use this day as a means to justify our military intervention or need to intervene in every conflict around the world which they may deem worthy.

 Emotions can be powerful and the powerful have realized that much can be gained if people act on emotion rather than fact. It’s high time ‘we the people’ come to realize this tactic and abuse as it is used and expose the frauds for what they are. Next time you hear a politician engage any topic of government growth or expansion with a 9/11 line, be wary and aware that it is an emotional response they seek and a reasoned one they fear.

“‘Emergencies’ have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded — and once they are suspended it is not difficult for anyone who has assumed such emergency powers to see to it that the emergency will persist.” – F.A. Hayek