Civil Liberties: Use Them or Lose Them
Rachel Neumann in Alternet presents a good wrap-up of the threats to our civil liberties resulting from the Patriot Act (I and II) and other legislation since Sept. 11--along with the good advice, "Use Them or Lose Them."
Still, it is not enough to wait for politicians to act. We must disabuse ourselves of the notion that it is only "other people's" liberties that are at stake. Our own government threatens our collective liberty far more than do outside sources. The response, as the Bill of Rights Defense Committees have shown, is to use our rights or lose them. Our right to think and speak for ourselves, without fear of spying neighbors, surveillance cameras or retaliation, is gravely threatened and only our collective and coordinated resistance will stop that threat.
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