draft of speech

[redsoxliberal]

Detained for years on end, stuck in a 7x9 cell for 23 hours a day. Some are tortured. Many have not been charged with anything, and there is no end in sight. This may sound like it is the work of some far off, tyrannical government halfway across the world. This is all the work of the United States government, and none of it is illegal due to legislation in the USA PATRIOT Act. Since September 11th, we have all been robbed of our civil liberties in the name of the War on Terror. In many cases, the Bill of Rights has been practically abandoned by the Patriot Act. Many people would wonder, “Why should I care if I have done nothing wrong?” In fact, the Patriot Act allows for any American to be detained and held without trial for an extended period of time. Any American can have their phone line tapped into. Any American can have their home searched, without a warrant from a judge. The government can even look into everything you have taken out of the library. Basically, big brother is watching you…Always.
One of the biggest problems is that the apathy of the general public towards such issues allowed bills like the Patriot Act to be passed, and if people don’t stand up and say “No” then we are headed towards a Fascist police state. Some say that the Patriot Act protects us from terrorism. However, 9/11 could have been prevented fairly easily without the Patriot Act had the government done its job instead of going on vacation. In fact, the Patriot Act actually does little to prevent terrorism, all it does it strip the country of the freedom that we have always stood for. The reason you should care is that we need more voices for dissent. This bill is unacceptable and needs to be phased out when congress gets the opportunity in 2005/2006. If everyone follows the government like sheep, then we will go further down the road of a police state, and, one day, it will be you that the Patriot Act, or an equivalent measure, is tackling. People need to start to care about what is going on, not just in their own lives, but in the general welfare of the country and the world. The loss of civil liberties through the Patriot Act is leading our country down a dangerous path, and is not even necessary in the War or Terror.
One of the timeless, great things about America is the freedom that is, and always has been associated with it. When one thinks of democracy, immediately one will associate it with America. However, the loss of civil liberties due to the Patriot Act is changing that quickly. The most basic issue is that the Bill of Rights itself is under attack. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Simply, your home cannot be searched without a warrant issued by a judge because of probable cause… a reason to search. With the Patriot Act, your house could be searched and no one would ever know. The government, under the Patriot Act, has a right to be in your house at any time they wish. This is in direct violation of the fourth amendment.
The worst violation of the Bill Of Rights, and of civil liberties in general, that occurs in the Patriot Act is certainly the sixth amendment. The sixth amendment says that:
“…The accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, …and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
However, with the Patriot Act, any defendant is entitled to, and receives none of this. Hundereds of people have been detained since September 11th, and many are still being held and have not even been charged yet. They don’t have access to a lawyer, and some have allegedly been tortured. Why? Has the defendant been given a speedy trial? Has the defendant been informed of the nature and cause of the accusation? Has the defendant been confronted with the witnesses against him? Does the defendant have the assistance of counsel for his defense? No. Their rights have been raped. Remember, under the Patriot Act, if you do something that gets you on “the list,” this could happen to you.
People on both sides of the political spectrum realize that this is wrong. On the left, the American Civil Liberties Union, or A.C.L.U. is constantly critical of the Patriot Act, and has filed suit attempting to have it ruled unconstitutional. In some cases it was successful. On the right, Insight magazine is on the record opposing the Patriot Act. Across the board, many see the encroachment on our freedoms.
Most of the general public has concerns about the Patriot Act as well. In a USA Today Poll, at least 71% disapprove of one or more provisions in the Patriot Act. However, the extreme right wing Bush administration has no problems with the Patriot Act, and would like to renew it and make it permanent as soon as possible. Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Ashcroft feel that civil liberties are unimportant. Those that are not in lock step could be locked up.
As effective as the Patriot Act is in encroaching on our freedom, it is nearly as ineffective in fighting terror. When your main catches are a United States Senator and hippy pop star from the seventies, your method of catching “terrorists” is ineffective. One day this summer, Ted Kennedy, a great, longtime senator from Massachusetts was not allowed to board a flight. Why? He was on the “No Fly List.” Guess who else was on it? The guy who wrote “Peace Train.” Cat Stevens. Only now he’s a Muslim, so obviously he’s a terrorist.
The truth is, the Patriot Act was never necessary. The terrorist attacks on September 11th were preventable. Thomas Kean, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the 9/11 attacks, says so: “This was not something that had to happen.” And this guy was appointed by George W. Bush himself.
Mr. Bush even received a memo on August 6, 2001 warning “Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US.” It even mentioned hi-jacking specifically. The inaction on the part of the administration was inexcusable. The main point however, is that this was all blatantly obvious without using the Patriot Act to spy on law-abiding citizens. So… what is the point of the USA PATRIOT Act?
I read a book last year called Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. It was set in the future, where books were banned, independent thought was frowned upon, and the government used any chance to brainwash its citizens. People had no privacy, and if someone owned even one book, their house would be burned to the ground and the owner would go straight to prison.
The chief mechanism for brainwashing in Fahrenheit 451 was wall-to-wall TVs, which showed government controlled programming. In the U.S., today, we have Fox News. Fox News is an extremely right wing, pro-Bush cable news network. Fox is nowhere near as bad as the television in Fahrenheit 451, but it is getting viewers, and constantly shifting further to the right. The people, then and now, don’t care unless they are entertained. They are apathetic to the truth.
In Fahrenheit 451, the change to Fascist rule occurred over a long period of time, with slow change. Today, we are slowly seeing our civil liberties and our rights erode and disappear. Now, with four more years of George W. Bush as president, and who knows how many more wars, phony orange alerts, then the prospect of Jeb Bush as president, we need to stop this potential transition. This cannot happen with the apathetic public that exists today. Making concessions of our free rights as Americans takes us down a slippery slope, and one that, if we go to far, may be impossible to climb back from.
The loss of civil liberties since September 11th has been unreasonable and un-American. Our constitution is under attack from the Patriot Act, and many people realize that and see that it is wrong. Even with the disruption of our rights, the Patriot Act does little to terrorists, and September 11th could have been easily prevented without it. Everyone needs to do there part to curb the abuses of our rights, or one day, you will be the one needing help, and no one will be there to help you. If the apathy of the public continues, more bills like the Patriot Act will be passed, and our rights will continue to dissipate and we will eventually live in a Fascist state. We must stand and fight off the assault on our liberty, but first we must end the apathy that lets bills like the Patriot Act pass.