Take this paragraph from Andy McCarthy's essay on fear, paranoia, and religious bigotry at National Review Online, substitute the word "communists" for "Islamists" and it sounds like something from another McCarthy at another ugly time in our history:
Mr. McCarthy (Andy, not Joe), our country has already been changed in fundamental ways. We have seen a defeat for freedom, and our way of life in this country has been drastically altered. That much is true. But not by the "Islamists" you and those who think (and I use that term loosely) like you who see a terrorist hiding in every closet and under every one of your beds imagine. That defeat of freedom and drastic alteration of our way of life is the result of your reaction and overreaction to the perversion of the religion of Islam by a handful of fanatics.
America has been changed from a country that led the world by example when it came to the principles of human rights and the rule of law, to a country that condones torture, imprisonment without charges or trials, and spying on its own citizens. Now, thanks to McCarthy and his ilk, the only thing we are an example of is that when it comes to things like human rights and the rule of law we are a nation of preachers but not practicers, talkers but not walkers.
America was a country with rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which served us well and made us that former example to the rest of the world, until September 11, 2001 when those rights and freedoms became expendable in the name of "keeping us safe" from another attack.
We have changed from a country that was founded on religious freedom and tolerance for all faiths into a country of the irrationally fearful who would deny the right of people to worship as they choose simply because of the location of their house of worship. Those are alterations far more drastic and change far more fundamental from within than anything the so-called "Islamists" could ever bring from without.
"Most of the American people are in a much different place. They see Islamists advancing, they are beginning to grasp that Islamists (not just terrorists but the whole Islamist movement) mean to change us in very fundamental ways, and therefore they understand that every such advance is a defeat for freedom. Every advance emboldens a determined enemy to press ahead. Over time, we could be conquered in that our way of life would be drastically altered."
Mr. McCarthy (Andy, not Joe), our country has already been changed in fundamental ways. We have seen a defeat for freedom, and our way of life in this country has been drastically altered. That much is true. But not by the "Islamists" you and those who think (and I use that term loosely) like you who see a terrorist hiding in every closet and under every one of your beds imagine. That defeat of freedom and drastic alteration of our way of life is the result of your reaction and overreaction to the perversion of the religion of Islam by a handful of fanatics.
America has been changed from a country that led the world by example when it came to the principles of human rights and the rule of law, to a country that condones torture, imprisonment without charges or trials, and spying on its own citizens. Now, thanks to McCarthy and his ilk, the only thing we are an example of is that when it comes to things like human rights and the rule of law we are a nation of preachers but not practicers, talkers but not walkers.
America was a country with rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which served us well and made us that former example to the rest of the world, until September 11, 2001 when those rights and freedoms became expendable in the name of "keeping us safe" from another attack.
We have changed from a country that was founded on religious freedom and tolerance for all faiths into a country of the irrationally fearful who would deny the right of people to worship as they choose simply because of the location of their house of worship. Those are alterations far more drastic and change far more fundamental from within than anything the so-called "Islamists" could ever bring from without.
Those who are willing to give up freedom for security will eventually have neither.
And old Joe McCarthy must be SO proud of his ideological descendants today. It's so obvious that many people didn't learn a damn thing from history of the Fifties....
We see with Islamists the same thing we saw (and later apologized profusely for) with people of Japanese descent after Pearl Harbor, ALL in the name of security.
There are people in the political arena successfully playing on the fear card over and over because the voting population eats it all up... Pathetic...
There comes a time when you alter the thing you love so much (to make it safer) that you no longer recognize it and it's not worth protecting anymore.
"We have changed from a country that was founded on religious freedom and tolerance for all faiths into a country of the irrationally fearful who would deny the right of people to worship as they choose simply because of the location of their house of worship"
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History has taught us that this has happened before and it is a temporary condition. Unfortunately things like suspending Habeas Corpus, torture and wrongful imprisonment have happened enough in our past that one can almost assume they are likely outcomes to fearful situations. He was guilty of not listening to his own advice but FDR's speech about "the only thing we have to fear" should be played over and over again before a joint session of Congress during fearful times to insure we don't bend or break our principles.