I suppose this is a good a time as any to start writing again.
Before I start, quick life update:
I got a gaming computer, which makes procrastination a lot easier. School has started once again, I got a job, my schedule is rapidly filling up. I've pretty much written about everything I wanted to originally write here, so posts are going to be a lot less frequent because I need to actually think of interesting, abrasive or thought provoking subjects to put here. But I am definitely starting up again, you can expect somewhat regular updates now.
First of all I would like to send my respects and condolences out to all who had lost someone to the 9/11 attacks, and to all who had lost their own lives, may they rest in peace. Also I would like to send out my appreciation to the firefighters and all who risked their lives to save others. It is comforting to know that the world is not filled with the corrupt, the ignorant, who would leave us dying in the rubble. I would hope that I would do the same as those firefighters, given the chance, but I have never been in a crisis like that. I've never felt the fear, the pain, the exhaustion or any of the circumstances those brave souls faced. I do not know what I would do in a crisis like that, I can only hope it would to comparable to the actions of those few brave souls who went, willing to give their lives, into the dark and dusty rubble for the sole reason that someone might need their help.
I do not know what I would do in a time of crisis but I can hope that it would not be what our government did. I am referring to the Patriot Act; a bill hastily passed through congress that allowed the government to detain innocents on nothing but suspicion without jury or bail. It allowed the governments to wiretap phones, invade our privacy, and essentially violate everything we have an amendment for.
What is it that sets us apart from them? Why are we the "good guys"? One can argue that our morals of freedom and justice make us a beacon of hope in the world for all those who have none. But what does it make us if we abandon those ideals so quickly and willingly in a time of crisis? What does it make us if we relinquish the very morals our country was founded on in pure anger and fear? Shouldn't we be better than that? The innocent people trapped in the rubble in the building were not saved because the firefighters abandoned their duty because they were too scared. Doctors did not save anyone by relinquishing the Hippocratic Oath and giving up out of frustration. In the same way, the country will not continue to be a beacon of justice and freedom if we give up those very values because of the whims of some misguided religious extremist.
I understand that those measures were taken to increase the likelihood of finding more potential terrorists, but at what cost? Do we let this paranoia rule us? Is the justice and freedom of innocents worth all this fear and inaccurate searching for hypothetical terrorists? Even if it MIGHT save thousands more lives, there are better techniques than violating our basic rights. Terrorists would easily find ways of hiding from this erratic searching, and attack us while our resources are focused on spying on innocents.
I try and live by my own morals, my personal code of conduct as best as I can. I wish I could say with certainty that I will never abandon it, but I cannot. But if a man can risk his life for the sake of another, this gives me hope that I might do the same. At least to me, our ideals are what set us apart from them, without those ideals, we're no better than the terrorists.
Food for thought. It just hit midnight, so I'm done writing for today.
