The
Enter Stage Right Site of the Month
Defending
Your Freedom
Extraordinary times usually lead to extraordinary actions. The aftermath
of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States is a good example.
Although Americans aren't as freedom-loving as they used to be, it took
attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for them to support
things like national ID cards, restrictions on free speech and cultural
profiling, among a laundry list of items.
So
while you still can -- because some enterprising politician might want
to declare it un-American -- write your political representatives using
the Defending Your Freedom web site to register that you don't believe
the way to fight terrorists is to become a more controlled nation. As
this magazine snidely stated recently, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida may
end up winning this war simply because they managed to move America towards
the same kind of repression they believe in.
So does writing people like President George W. Bush and America's senators
really accomplish anything? Contrary to what most people think, politicians
do take note of what their constituents write about. Well-crafted letters
that concisely and coherently argue a position are taken into account.
It may not help, but it probably wouldn't hurt either ... unless you support
restrictions on your personal liberties.
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