Be Afraid, Be VERY Afraid!

Reflections on my 56^th Birthday

By Jeffry L’H. Tank

One would think that on entering my 56th year on this tiny blue marble called Earth and Home, with my retirement date firmly in view for the first time in my life, I would have cause to celebrate. Sadly, several articles I recently read have given me cause to wonder what, if anything, I have to celebrate.

It seems like it was only yesterday when, as I reached my 50th year and sat contemplating the state of the world and all the changes I had seen take place over the years, that I did indeed have cause to rejoice. The single most important event that had taken place in recent years was that the world had finally (I thought) woken up to the realization that there could never be such a thing as a “controlled” nuclear war, and there could never be any hope of any other outcome than that of our complete and total destruction, including not just mankind, but of the entire planet and every living thing that we share our world with. A revelation that myself and countless others had come to some years ago, a simple and obvious fact that we had been seemingly unable to convince those in power of. Then suddenly, almost overnight it seemed, the leaders of the nuclear nations came to this same undeniable conclusion and they thus sat down together and signed a pact to actually begin the process of down sizing their stock piles of nuclear arms. It was that single act that lifted my spirits more that anything that year, and I began to hope that we might finally be on the road to world peace and my heart was lifted.

Then 9/11 happened and my world, along with that of every other American, was forever and irrevocably changed. A day that I need not say more of, for we each have our memories burned into our souls and will never forget the events. We each remember where we were when we received the news and how it touched us. That is for each of us to hold within and share as we feel the need. It is a private, personal memory, unique to each and I will not dare intrude upon those thoughts that we each hold.

So then, if it is not the event itself that I wish to address here, what is it? Simply put, it is that in the past week as of writing this article, I read several news stories that brought home just how much that day has changed our lives, the world and how many view it as a means to enact measures that go against the very core of the beliefs upon which this great nation was founded.

The first article, which I read in a recent issue of New Scientist, addressed one of the most profound changes in the way some of our national agencies would now use the events of 9/11 as justification for increased data gathering. Data gathering not simply of “suspected” terrorist or their supporters, but rather a wholesale gathering of information about ANY individual they choose to or even worse (if such a thing is possible) wholesale information gathering of, every US citizen, regardless of any justifiable suspicion! Data gathering simply to gather data, using a process known as “data miming” from every source available, and in today’s world of electronic databases containing everything from your bank accounts, phone numbers, where you buy gas, who you know (gathered from your phone records) the amount of data available is literally mind-boggling. Furthermore they want to enforce a set of rules that would make all these different databases to come under one common data model where similar bits of information share a common data “tag” so that no matter where the data about you is stored, the same data type is retrievable under the same data tag. Imagine for a moment what this means for all of us and you can quickly see where it can/would lead. Quite literally, nothing in your life would be private, no phone call, no online or in store transaction, even using cash won’t do much good to keep their prying eyes and data gathering electronic robots out of your life. Why? Well every time you use your Safeway, Giant, or any shoppers discount card the store has gathered information about your buying habits. Every item is recorded under your account number. Ever wondered why the discount coupons you get printed out on the bottom of the receipt match those things you are likely to buy? Now you know. Seemingly innocent enough, yes, BUT if Safeway can do it, imagine what the NSA could do with data mining like that extended across your entire life! And what is their most often touted justification of late? The events of 9/11.

The other article that had such an impact on me, that I had read just today and inspired this article, was a two part write-up in the Washington Post about the debate currently going on in congress on allowing or disallowing, the use of more “pervasive” forms of interrogation, or in other more direct terms, torture, on those caught or even just suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. While I was certainly aware that these debates were taking place, reading those two articles really drove the issue home. Immediately after reading those two articles I turned to Jeanne and stated simply (and still in the level of disbelief I have been since first hearing of them) “Why, in God’s name, are we (the Nation) even having this discussion!!???” And Why indeed are we?!

As one of the writers of the articles in the Sunday Post stated so eloquently, and a thought which I wholeheartedly share, I will not add credence to this discussion by participating in it or by listing all the reasons why the use of torture has been shown to be ineffective, period. Any reasonable, intelligent person can find those on their own by simply searching their soul and heart. It is the mere fact that congress has now been placed in the position of having to enact a law specifically to prevent those that would attempt to bring this form of interrogation into our nations list of acceptable practices that appalls, frightens and saddens me to no end. I see this as simply yet again, a war that can never be won. I ask that you stop to consider where it could well lead us, once we start to travel down that road. This is a question that should be of the greatest concern to all our citizens least we find that one day, we too, will be subject to those same forms of questioning. When the private citizen has to be afraid of the very organizations who’s purpose is to protect them from the very thing they now fear, we have truly lost sight of the words that form the basis for everything this country stands for.

Here again, the underlying reason given by those who support the introduction of torture in interrogation are the events of 9/11. They would proclaim that without such means of interrogation to be used at their discretion (and no doubt in uttermost secret), we will inevitably be drawn into another similar event. It is my firm believe that by doing so they are doing a grave dis-service to those brave souls that died that day, both in the sky and on the ground. We must hold steadfastly to the idea that they died believing in those words upon which this nation was founded. How then can we allow certain groups to ignore those same beliefs or attempt to circumvent them as it is found to be convenient, all in the name of 9/11? Just the idea that we can (as a nation) even consider such ideas disheartens me more than any words can portray.

Now don’t misunderstand me, I am NOT saying we should cease all data gathering or open up our skies willy nilly to any and all without caution. Nor should we let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking we can never be overrun by those that oppose our ideas, 9/11 proved that we CAN be the target of a successful attack. Rather, what I am saying is that we should proceed with caution, being ever vigilant not only of our enemies but also of those within that would take from us what so many have died for to ensure our freedoms and liberty that our founding father took such pains to ensure for all of our citizens. We are a nation that was built on the idea that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights and we must all protect those rights and cherish them lest they be taken away, by ANYONE! And I would furthermore suggest that rather than gather ever more data, we concentrate our resources on making better use of the data currently gathered. I have read any number of articles about how the evidence for 9/11 was right there, we simply failed to see it for what is was. While we will never know all the reasons we failed that day, I suspect that at least one contributing factor was that we were too busy gathering ever more data, instead of properly analyzing what we already had.

So in conclusion let me be perfectly clear in what exactly am I saying we should be afraid of. Is it Nuclear War, another terrorist attack or being interrogated by means of torture? Yes, certainly those are all things that are cause for concern, but what we should really fear, down to the depths of our very souls, are those who would use such events as 9/11 as justification to enact measures that would effectively curtail our freedom, limit our movement or silence our speech and in so doing remove from us those self same fundamental rights they proclaim to be protecting! It is based on that very real possibility that I say to you again, Be afraid, be VERY Afraid! Always remember to be ever vigilant so that our Constitutionally Given Rights do not become trampled into the dirt, not only by those who oppose us from without, but also by those misguided zealots within our own nation, all in the name of 9/11!

Now I realize that some that read this may think the title came on a bit strong, but if you’ve gotten this far then maybe, just maybe it caught you attention enough that it make read this article and hopefully stop and consider what I’ve said. And if you Have gotten this far, well then the emphasis I put into the title has worked, and that is the whole point of writing, making others aware of your thoughts and feelings (or in this case, mine).

For me, at least, my 55th year could have ended on a more up-beat, note; I only hope yours’ will be (or has been) better. Now I really need to go for a long ride and clear my head, see you all next month when I’ll have something a bit more uplifting to report.

© Jeffry L’H. Tank

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.

Travel | Back Seat | Byways | Specials | Letters | Tips | About Us | Privacy | Disclaimer | Search