The American War on Terror has inspired much writing on the so-called Islamic terrorism problem. In the name of securing global peace, the world has been turned upside down and the lives of hundreds of innocent people severely affected. Along the way, there have been some high profile captures but the vast majority caught in the dragnet have been innocents or at the very most minor characters who had clearly been brainwashed into believing a distorted version of religion. The upshot of all this effort and money has been a vast increase in insecurity not just for the developing (mostly Muslim) countries bit also in the US itself. A massive culture of fear has been cultivated which has resulted in the Americans allowing a massive erosion of their civil liberties. It is not as if the integrity of the country is threatened. While Al-Qaeda can hit isolated and even high profile targets, there is no way that it can seriously affect the US in a fashion that the country's existence would be threatened.
So if the integrity of the US is not threatened and right now there is no country in the world which can pose a serious military threat to it, why are the Americans so scared that they are willing to see their constitution mangled and their civil liberties erode? Perhaps it is because they have not yet registered what a true erosion of civil liberties can be like. Till now, the life of the average American has remained unchanged. But what is clear now is that the US is in the process of turning itself into a police state. Right now, the steel fist is clothed in a velvet glove as far as the home population is concerned. But the danger is that at some point in the future, the steel fist can emerge. If arbitrary powers are granted to someone, then at some point they will be exercised. Remember that Hitler was democratically elected. It was only after they came to power democratically did the Nazi regime turn Germany into a police state. How? By burning down the parliament building and then spreading fears of a communist takeover. The question often asked is why did a cultured nation like Germany allow itself to be turned into a state where civil liberties were squelched and undesirables as defined by the state extrerminated. I think the answer is that initially the life of the average German was not affected. By the time the average German was materially affected, there was a pervasive atmosphere of fear which translated into a willingness to look the other way at blatant acts of violence.
Right now the war on terror has largely affected countries that physically are very far from the US and not strong enough to pose a direct threat. Even Iran, the current bogeyman, can pose an indirect threat; the manner of that threat is such that it will drag the global economy into a recession (infact it will probably be a depression akin to the Great Depression). So once again, given that the average Joe American is far more likely to die in a car accident than in a terrorist strike, why is he (and Jane American) so scared?
So if the integrity of the US is not threatened and right now there is no country in the world which can pose a serious military threat to it, why are the Americans so scared that they are willing to see their constitution mangled and their civil liberties erode? Perhaps it is because they have not yet registered what a true erosion of civil liberties can be like. Till now, the life of the average American has remained unchanged. But what is clear now is that the US is in the process of turning itself into a police state. Right now, the steel fist is clothed in a velvet glove as far as the home population is concerned. But the danger is that at some point in the future, the steel fist can emerge. If arbitrary powers are granted to someone, then at some point they will be exercised. Remember that Hitler was democratically elected. It was only after they came to power democratically did the Nazi regime turn Germany into a police state. How? By burning down the parliament building and then spreading fears of a communist takeover. The question often asked is why did a cultured nation like Germany allow itself to be turned into a state where civil liberties were squelched and undesirables as defined by the state extrerminated. I think the answer is that initially the life of the average German was not affected. By the time the average German was materially affected, there was a pervasive atmosphere of fear which translated into a willingness to look the other way at blatant acts of violence.
Right now the war on terror has largely affected countries that physically are very far from the US and not strong enough to pose a direct threat. Even Iran, the current bogeyman, can pose an indirect threat; the manner of that threat is such that it will drag the global economy into a recession (infact it will probably be a depression akin to the Great Depression). So once again, given that the average Joe American is far more likely to die in a car accident than in a terrorist strike, why is he (and Jane American) so scared?
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