At the time it was passed, The Patriot Act was considered considered by some to be the most sweeping and invasive law in the history of Democracy. The controversial law, which was passed "for the sake of national security" to give the then newly formed Department of Homeland Security its teeth basically authorized the government to spy on everyone in not just America but everyone on the planet who was suspected of being involved in terrorism.
This is not hyperbole or exaggeration. What's ever scarier is the original draft was actually much stronger and would have basically turned the U.S. into a Police State overnight if passed. Democrats pushed hard and succeeded in forcing the GOP-authored bill to be modified before it was signed into law though it was still pretty sweeping to say the least.
The Patriot Act broke down the walls between Law Enforcement, U.S. Intelligence and the Justice Department. It greatly expanded U.S. Surveilance capabilities in reach, scope and depth. Every public phone could be monitored without a warrant. Law Enforcement could ask Librarians about certain kinds of books a "person of interest" checked out and the Librarian was not allowed to tell you you're being investigated by law enforcement. No, really.
For those who were not alive or old enough to remember what life in America was like before 9/11, the biggest thing is it was much easier to fly. You could also enter a sports stadium with a backpack. You also did not need to pass through a metal detector to enter a Federal Building. Those are just a few examples of life in America pre-9/11.
Why have those restrictions from 20 years ago still in place now? Ask your average layperson and they'll tell you "for safety and security reason" and to an extent that is still true. Even more so now with the rise of Domestic Terrorism and White Nationalism under Trump. Speaking of. Many historians correctly point to The Patriot Act and the anti-Islam/Muslim Xenophobia that followed 9/11 as the seeds that led to the rise of Trump 15 years later.
I was in high school when 9/11 happened. I remember following the news coverage when the Patriot Act was first proposed. Don't let those who opposed it fool you, there was overwhelming support for not only the version that passed and the originally proposed one but many people wanted even stricter provisions including indefinite incarcerations and legalized bounty hunting "to smoke out all the Arabs". Yes, really.
This quote that dissenting voices brought up back then still rings true now:
With the Patriot Act and other things, America proved to not just Terrorist Organizations Foreign and Domestic but to the international community American society will gladly Sacrifice their Civil Liberties at the drop of a hat for "Safety and Security".
Think about it. Does it make ANY sense to you that a country of over 300 Million people needs to pay the price for the actions of a handful of people 20 years later? Because that is the longest lasting legacy from 9/11 that is often ignored.
As a reminder, there have been 3 presidents since Bush 43 and NONE of them have pushed to have even ONE of those restrictions eased or removed. This is to say nothing about the fact there are terrorist suspects in federal prison who STILL have not actually been charged yet. If this was Iran, Russia or China we people would be talking about human rights violations. Since they're international terrorists and America is doing it, that makes it ok though.
...These are also Terrorists. They've been around long before 9/11 too.
Over the years, they patiently bided their time waiting for someone like Trump to occupy the White House so they could freely and openly plan attacks against America. The U.S. Capitol Attack instigated by Trump is the most significan terrorist act in the U.S. since 9/11. Since they're White and many of them are members of the Trump Cult, the GOP is doing everything in its power to pretend it never happened.
Now that the U.S. is no longer spending $100 Billion a year in Afghanistan, maybe we can now focus on the REAL threat to National Security that's been hiding in plain sight for far too long.
I want to end with this because just like 20 years ago, many people have been talking about having certain freedoms being restricted due to the ongoing Corona Virus Pandemic. I haven't said this until now but yes, I am WELL aware that some freedoms have been restricted due to the Pandemic and more so for those who are unvaccinated. I am not ignorant of that fact.
Where I will disagree with those who want to let the Pandemic have free reign and "whoever dies, dies" is a Virus is not the same as a Terrorist. All a virus cares about is infecting and killing as many people as possible. A virus doesn't care who you are, what your nationality is, what your politics are or if you think it's not real. Literally every single person on Earth is fair game as far as COVID-19 is concerned and more so the unvaccinated.
So, not just America but the whole world is going through this Pandemic together. That's why the comparisons to 9/11 in regards to freedoms being resricted really isn't fair. Also like 9/11, we can't go back to pre-pandemic norms or rather not completely. Both the Pandemic and 9/11 were checks to test America and in both cases the Amercian people failed miserably.
If you want to know where the "America First" slogan Trump made famous first came from, it was the U.S. reaction and response to 9/11. For those who don't know or remember, there were many on the Right who wanted to seal off the U.S. boarders indefinitely. No one in or out. Remember Trump's imfamous "Muslim ban"? It was actually first proposed right after 9/11 but the idea was dropped because of how openly xenophobic it was.
One of the lasting legacies from 9/11 that was shattered on January 6 was the general idea White America took comfort in and that was the idea "only Muslims/Arabs/Foreigners can be terrorists". White Anglo-Saxon Christian American-born people who've made it clear their only concern is tearing this country apart? "They're not terrorists. They're patriots."
I do believe we will see the end of America as we knew it within my lifetime and the signs are pretty obvious. Am I scared for what's to come? Of course not. I have no reason or need to be. Nothing lasts forever and that includes countries obviously.
The sooner most people come to terms with that fact, the better. Some are planning for when that happens now but more need to be thinking of it. What more evidence do you need to see to know at the end of the day, most Americans will choose self-interest over anything else first at the end of the day? It was proven in 9/11 and proven again with this pandemic. It will be proven yet again with the next history crisis this country faces too.
Despite all that I've just said, I am still hopeful for the future. America as a country will eventually collapse but the people will live on. That's going to be my focus moving forward.
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