The Patriot Act

3 Pages 854 Words

The only thing more disgusting than the terror that occurred on September 11, 2001, was the public reaction to it, and, more specifically President Bush’s abuse of public and international goodwill and his new policies as a result. After the “honeymoon” period when this entire country seemed to come together with a common goal and with all differences put aside, the media, the government, and most of the private sector became a pack of hyenas, leaping on every opportunity to exploit the situation. Television networks added the stars and stripes to their logos, and every storefront in and out of New York proclaimed that “These Colors Don’t Run.” People began measuring patriotism in terms of over-the-top displays of national symbols, rather than genuine national pride. Then came the ultimatums: “If you don’t support each and every policy of our President, then you don’t support the country, and you are not a patriot.” We were told, in the name of vague indefinables, that patriotism and political support couldn’t be mutually exclusive. Yard signs began springing up: “I support President Bush and Our Troops.” Questions like “do you support the war? No? How could you not support our brave soldiers?” made us believe that it was impossible to support the men and women fighting overseas, without necessarily supporting the cause they were fighting for or the policies of their Commander-in-Chief. Bush redefined the word “patriotism,” and, in quite a contradictory fashion, appealed to notions of freedom and liberty to defend his reduction of both. Then, once the general public and the commercial community had hopped on the bandwagon of blind, unquestioning patriotism, President Bush really dropped the bomb.
Forty-five days after the atrocity, congress, with almost no debate or dissent, passed what is now known as the Patriot Act. Under the guise of increasing law enforcement agencies’ capacities for counterter...