The End of Checks And Balances
May 23, 2006 – 10:31 pmI am getting more and more worried, pretty much by the day, about the direction in which the Bush administration is leading my country. I sleep worse at night when I think about it. I lose my appetite during the day when I think about it. I just simply become less happy thinking about all the ways in which our democracy is being harmed, time and time again, by people who turn around and lecture other countries about transparency and civil rights protection in government.
I have been reading a lot of stuff on the web, both from the left and the right of the political spectrum, in an attempt to gauge the reaction of others to recent news in general. In my search for reading material, I found the blog of one Glenn Greenwald, and I must say it’s been a wonderful find.
Mr. Greenwald has the following short bio of himself on his blog:
For the past 10 years, I was a litigator in NYC specializing in First Amendment challenges (including some of the highest-profile free speech cases over the past few years), civil rights cases, and corporate and security fraud matters.
So he at least has experience with civil liberties issues in this country. I find his assessments of the actions of the Bush administration to be fair and measured, without the angry, name-calling component that can be found elsewhere on the “blogosphere”. I just read one of his posts from yesterday, and I found the final paragraph encapsulates my current thinking better than anything else I’ve read:
The crux of the Bush administration for the last five years has basically been a competition of contrived, cheap manliness where the winner is he who can wage the most aggressive and fundamental war on American principles of government which have defined our country since its founding. Vesting increased power in the Commander-in-Chief and compiling ever-increasing powers of secrecy have been the only two principles with any recognized value. Those most steadfastly loyal to those two objectives have flourished and consolidated power. As a result, the role of the judiciary and the Congress in our system of government has never been smaller, while the power of the President has never been greater. And the greatest enemy of the administration are checks and balances of any kind — whether from Congress, the courts or the media.
I very strongly recommend you read that post and any of the others for which you have time. Mr. Greenwald has a brand new book out titled How Would a Patriot Act?. Take a look at it if you’re interested; I sure am. It’s about time we, those who truly value civil liberties and transparency in government, take this country back.
3 Responses to “The End of Checks And Balances”
“I sleep worse at night when I think about it. I lose my appetite during the day when I think about it.”
I apologize if some of this seems crass or harsh, but it worries me when I hear people say things like this due to politics. The vast majority of the population can only do two things when they disagree with the government: vote and be vocal in their opposition. Some people, mostly with law degrees and balls of steel, can challenge the government directly or the government’s accomplices. But you and I are not such people.
You vote and you’re certainly vocal, Jeff. So what else can you do? What else should you do? If you’re doing everything that you can and should do, then I think you owe it to yourself to get some sleep. Being concerned and aware of what’s going on is a great thing, but right now you can’t do much more about things. Worrying to the point that you can’t sleep or eat neither helps you fight the system nor does it help you with the more immediate things in your life (research, girlfriend, etc).
Rest assured that the majority of the population agrees with you that the government is doing a terrible job. Hopefully the 68% of the population that feels this way will vote out the current administration and vote in people that believe in and will restore civil liberties. That is certainly going to be the most effective way to institute change. It’s much more effective than not getting sleep at night.
Anyway, just my take on things.
By Adam on May 24, 2006 at 1:28 pm
No, that doesn’t sound harsh. I guess I just get frustrated that I’m already doing as much as I can reasonably expect myself to do. I wish there was more I could do, but like you said, I don’t have the money, the expertise, or the cojones to make a serious splash with this stuff.
But I’m doing what I can, and I’m satisfied with that.
By jjk on May 25, 2006 at 10:29 pm
Both of you young men are correct. We all must vote every time we have an opportunity at any level of goverment. We also must keep others informed of our opinions so as to hopefully encourage them to vote in a maner that well save our union. It is up to your generation to heal all the wounds of division that we as a nationb now suffer.
By PaPa on May 29, 2006 at 1:48 pm