The Chaff

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Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

Please Don't Throw the Country Away

(If you don’t follow politics, you may not know this: The Senate is getting ready to pass a bill that eliminates the right to a trial or even a military tribunal for "illegal combatants"–and has such a vague definition of that term that it could be used against just about anybody. The bill also eliminates the right of habeas corpus–that’s the rule that says that the government can’t just throw you in jail without charging you with some kind of crime: it’s been around since the Magna Carta back in 1215. It’s kind of important, you know? There’s more to the bill–allowing torture and what-not–but this is part that wouldn’t let me get to sleep.)

To the members of the U.S. Senate:

My daughter’s fourth grade class has been studying the
Constitution for the past few weeks. What do I say to her tomorrow evening,
when everything she’s learned no longer exists?

What words do I use to convey what we’ve lost by suspending
habeas corpus? How do I explain to her that our elected representatives took
less than five days to throw away protections that were won only through
rebellion, bought with the blood of great men, enshrined in law for nearly a
thousand years–and then tossed aside like a broken toy?

Should I tell her that our government can now point at
anyone, anywhere in the world, say the magic words "I think you’re an
enemy combatant!" and make that person disappear, maybe even forever? And
when she tells me that doesn’t seem very fair, do I explain that the concepts
of fairness and justice and right were judged to be quaint and outdated along
with the treaties that tried to enforce them?

How do I tell her that she doesn’t really have the freedom
of speech or religion anymore, or the right to a fair trial, or the guarantee
that she would never be tortured by the people who swore to protect her? How
can I explain that once habeas corpus is gone–once the government can imprison
you without trial, without proving cause, without even telling anyone that they
have you–there is no longer any practical way to protect any other right?

Please don’t make me tell my child that her country just
isn’t the same anymore. I don’t have the strength to explain to her that America
has abandoned its fundamental, defining principles for…what?

Please, for God’s sake, let me tuck her into bed tomorrow
night knowing that she still lives in the United
States of America, where there still is
liberty and justice for all.

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