Quote:
Originally posted by Stoneman
Are people reading too much into this? Seriously. Naturally, we've got conservatives on one side saying it means one thing and lib's on the other side saying it means another. And that's getting WAY old...
Seriously...is this to protect us as Americans or is it a threat to us as Americans? I'm talking about this as an issue, NOT as one side vs. another or which political party you support or endorse. So no need to start quoting radio/television shows to make a point. I'd like to hear PERSONAL views on this. It has nothing to do with who you support. Your personal opinions on this as an American citizen... |
All politics aside:
This is both meant to protect citizens AND a threat to citizens. It is a well intentioned step backwards in person rights and freedoms.
History has proven, several times over in the past, that giving a government the power to imprison people without a proper system of due process causes abuse of that power. Its how this country was founded, and is why the concept of habeas corpus was put at the forefront of the Bill of Rights.
We have already heard of one case where a man was detained and tortured when in fact he had nothing to do with terrorism. The only reason we heard it was because he was a Canadian citizen, who was returned to Canada, and spoke with Canadian press sources. I am certain there are more.
By allowing a government to lock people up and torture them if we think they are terrorists, we are giving them absolute power over anyone they label a "terrorist". In my opinion, there is no way this wont lead to abuse.
I understand the intent - this is intended to protect us all from terrorism. But the answer is not to allow the government to spy on us and lock us up on a whim called "terrorism".
