Worst Use of the Word Patriot EVER
Jason Andrews: Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001?
Lt. Tao: Otherwise known as the PATRIOT Act.
Jason Andrews: PATRIOT’s an acronym?
Lt. Provenza: Oh, yeah. And someone was very proud the day they thought of it.
[from “Under the Influence” Major Crimes, Season 2]
As much as I believe it is vital for the United States to be able to effectively combat terrorism, I’ve never been a fan of the PATRIOT Act.
The fundamental problem that I have with it is Government is imperfect. It can be no other way. Let’s face it. Government is made up of humans and humans are, by nature, imperfect.
There is no such thing as giving the Federal Government “a little” power.
Our founders designed our system of government to separate and limit power because they knew that “rulers” will always take more power than they should.
The primary problem with having a very large centralized government is it will, by its nature, seek more power than it should have.
The bigger the government, the more abuse of power.
The bigger the government, the more limited our freedoms become.
It’s the nature of the beast.
As well-meaning as the PATRIOT Act may have been, the blowback on the liberties of the American People make it a bad law.
If we are willing to justify excusing the violation of the Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches and seizures under the guise that we are trying to stop terrorists, we are leaving ourselves wide open for abuse.
Because the Federal Government will, by its nature, overreach.
And naming this atrocious law PATRIOT is nothing short of Orwellian.
It is without a doubt the worst use of the word Patriot EVER.
I don’t know about you, but I was uncomfortable with George W. Bush’s Administration having this kind of power.
Obama having this kind of power scares the living daylights out of me.
We’ve seen how he uses the Federal Government, not to target the Enemies of the United States, but his own personal opponents.
The last man I want wielding the power of the PATRIOT Act is Barack Hussein Obama.
For all the talk from Republicans that we need the PATRIOT Act to remain in place for national security reasons. I don’t agree.
Human beings are imperfect, flawed, driven by their own self-preservation and self-interest.
A man like Barack Obama who has proven he will target his personal enemies using the power and authority of the Federal Government — from the IRS to the Justice Department — cannot be trusted with a flawed, dangerous law like PATRIOT.
Though I admit I do not always agree with Senator Rand Paul. His piece in TIME from yesterday is spot-on.
I too believe it is time we end PATRIOT.
In the hands of saints, perhaps this law would be of good use.
But our government is not made up of saints, but flawed humans.
Or, as Senator Paul himself says in his piece:
Our government is not comprised of angels, and we must have rules in place that acknowledge that, and protect our rights while protecting our national security.
The purpose of our Constitution is to limit the power of the Federal Government. PATRIOT does not limit that power. Rather, it lays at Government’s feet unwarranted (literally) powers that our Founders would have been horrified to see this Government wield.
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Books by Dianny:
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RANT: Politics & Snark in the Age of Obama,
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I am totally against the Patriot Act. It seems to be selectively used to the government’s benefit and not our citizens. Why wasn’t it used to investigate Lois Learner, or Granny Clinton? We need an Act to monitor what these questionable characters in Washington are doing more than what our citizens are doing.