9/11 Liberties Lost
Directly after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft declared “a new paradigm.” Preventing terrorist acts, he announced, was now more important than punishing crimes after the fact. There are similarities here that echo that of Orwellian "thought crimes" or the “Minority Report,” theme which portrayed a world where the police catch criminals before they can act, based on their thoughts.
Ethically there are a million things wrong with this line of thinking. Crimes are impossible to prevent seeing as how one hasn't committed a "crime" prior to committing a "crime". There is certainly something that can be prevented with this line of reasoning I assure you, and that is - you can be prevented from having any liberties at all.
The liberties lost in the days that followed 9/11 have and will continue to wreak havoc on peaceful "Americans". There is a huge price to pay when blindly believing a force-fed narrative supplied by the government. The price was not paid in the lives lost, no. It is a price that will be continually paid by those who didn't perish that day. The cost .... freedom.
When you start lining up the liberties that were lost in the following months a more sinister narrative begins to emerge. One that has a false flag at the center of it.
The USA Patriot Act, for instance, is more than 300 pages long and sailed through Congress seven weeks after the attacks with limited objections. It immediately became a shorthand for government abuse.
The Patriot Act undeniably expanded the government’s surveillance powers. The Patriot Act expanded the definition of terrorism, meaning non-violent civil-disobedience can lead to a terrorist label. Also, those like Edward Snowden can’t expose government treachery without facing exile or arrest.
Right to Privacy The Patriot Act was only the start. Snowden leaked the metadata mining program by the National Security Agency. For his revelations, he fled the U.S. to evade prosecution.
Americans information is not secure. In the name of fighting terrorism, the government has completely ignored Americans freedom of privacy. Even if you 'have nothing to hide' that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shame the invasive state. They have the ability to look into any camera on any device you own, does that make you feel safe? or creeped out? They have the ability to focus a satellite and zoom into your property, down to the dollar you are holding and read the serial numbers. This isn't vegas, this is a planet. Nothing good will ever come from this sort of invasion of privacy.
Freedom of Movement The Transportation Security Agency tells the entire story on this one. Americans are now molested every time they want to fly. They can’t carry certain water bottles and even certain containers of milk when traveling with children aren’t accepted and can at the least cause you to go through extra screening and questions. Every American is a suspect (Even the children who have to endure long violating pat downs). The government has brought the competence of the DMV to your airports. Not to mention TSA has not been responsible for preventing a single attack since its inception. Attackers doing security drills were even able to get past TSA with plastic knives.
Right to a fair trial You should stay cognizant that the state has arbitrary power to label terrorists. Government watch-lists face little review, and they can be used at the expense of your liberty.
Due Process Due process, pffft. Due process has been routinely violated after 9/11. The Bush administration was infamous for their abuses of due process. With the National Defense Authorization Act, the Obama administration decided to continue his legacy.
Economic Liberty
A big military-state goes hand and hand with an economic attack. As long as the government continues to spend billions to fight their supposed War on Terror, your economic freedom will decline.
The government can indefinitely detain Americans. Indefinitely!! "Legally"!! Well, all they had to do was pass the laws that said it was "legally" and voila.
As the government has expanded, the police-state has reacted. Policies like the drug war have been enforced with more vigor, leading to more unwarranted searches.
The government can conduct searches and wiretaps without probable cause. People are no longer safe in their persons and property. The state is out of control.
