Today is September 11, 2013.
Twelve years later I am still unable to really talk about my feelings, and the sadness is overwhelming even now.
The loss of life and security is terrifying, but so is our loss of freedoms as Americans. I doubt the public even knows the extent of our government’s intrusion. But I am confident the Founding Fathers are rolling over in their graves as our government inches its way towards eliminating our Constitutional privacy rights altogether. From Homeland Security, to the Patriot Act, to the recent goings-on at the NSA, our leadership has been undermining many freedoms our Founders worked so hard to establish and preserve.
Fortunately, I do believe our President has concerns about these transgressions, even if he is part of perpetuating them. Last night President Obama gave a speech from the White House about Syria. In discussing America’s response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people, the President said:
“I’m [ . . . ] the President of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy. So even though I possess the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right, in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to Congress. I believe our democracy is stronger when the President acts with the support of Congress. And I believe that America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together.
This is especially true after a decade that put more and more war-making power in the hands of the President, and more and more burdens on the shoulders of our troops, while sidelining the people’s representatives from the critical decisions about when we use force.”
I applaud President Obama for taking the issue to Congress instead of acting on his own. The American people deserve to have a say in our involvement in any act that may cause loss of human life, and I hope that people contact their congressmen to express their thoughts (whatever they may be).
Tags: 9/11 Attorney Congress Constitution Constitutional Democracy Criminal Defense Criminal Law Democracy Founders Founding Fathers Freedom Government Government Intrusion Homeland Security Kentucky Lawyer Louisville Military Military Strikes NSA Patriot Act President President Obama Privacy Rights September 11th Syria White House