Paul Proctor -- The War On Freedom

If you haven’t read the story yet, the Washington Times is reporting on President Bush’s new “Terrorism Prevention and Information System”. (TIPS) It will recruit about 4% of Americans to essentially spy on the rest of us as a means to somehow prevent terrorism. As some of you know, I have alluded to this sort of thing many times in past columns. Apparently the risk of public outrage over such a despotic proposal is now minimal for reasons I need not repeat, making it therefore politically safe to reveal the devilish details to the mainstream media without fear of fallout.

Planned volunteer-informant corps elicits '1984' fears

http://www.washingtontimes. com/national/20020716-75882632.htm

I am reminded of the 1953 war drama, Stalag 17, starring William Holden and Peter Graves where an English-speaking German spy is covertly placed within the ranks of US soldiers being held in a prisoner of war camp during WWII. When rumors begin circulating that a spy is among them, paranoia ensues, tempers flare, accusations fly and imaginations run wild throughout the barracks as everyone recklessly attempts to determine just who the cowardly snitch is. It eventually leads to an innocent party (Holden) getting publicly maligned and nearly beaten to death. The real spy (Graves) joins the enraged mob against the accused while continuing his secret signals and reports to the Nazis – that is, until he gets caught in the end.

Besides being unconstitutional and un-American, snooping on innocent people in a free society is cowardly, divisive and just plain evil. Regardless of whether or not President Bush’s motives are honorable the fact remains that in tattle tailing for the federal government, anyone with a personal grievance against another individual or group could literally wreak havoc on them with such powers. Needless to say, the potential for tragedy and abuse is huge. How secure do you think you are going to feel in this escalating “War on Terrorism” burdened with the grim knowledge that you’re always going to be watched by someone somewhere reporting your personal activities, conversations and correspondence to an unaccountable hierarchy that, in the interest of “Homeland Security”, has the legal authority to take from you whatever they want, anytime they want, without so much as a warrant or a knock on the door. Rent a copy of Stalag 17 some evening and you’ll see for yourself what happens to people under this kind of oppression. It’s not pretty. They may call this ongoing battle a “War on Terrorism” but I assure you, if anything, it is a war on freedom.

I have said for years now that America is gradually becoming itself a concentration camp where personal privacy and liberty are attacked daily using crisis, disinformation and propaganda for the purpose of instilling just enough fear and paranoia into society to turn the “fruited plain” into fertile ground for the tares of tyranny. Only days after the towers fell President Bush began a strange line of rhetoric that said the threat of terrorism was a threat to our freedom and that we needed to go to war indefinitely to protect that freedom. But, you see – terrorists don’t want your freedom – they want your life. It is tyrants and dictators that want your freedom.

Buildings may crumble and fall around us from acts of terror but we are still free to walk amid the smoking rubble. It just takes faith and courage -- things that God, not government gives. However, when we willingly surrender our inalienable rights over to political opportunists with Christian claims and patriotic promises it is THEN and ONLY THEN that we are in danger of losing our freedom – not when planes fly into buildings.

Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for News With Views, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print. Paul may be reached at watchman@usa.com.