Constitution in Crisis

The Bush administration’s abuse of power has reached epic proportions. They foist their rapacious policies on the country, launch savage attacks on their opponents, claim executive privilege when questioned, and “classify” any document that could shed light. They’ve rendered the Constitution irrelevant - their secrecy is downright creepy - and the more we learn the worse it gets.

That Bush and his neo-conservative cabal came to power with a preconceived plan to topple Saddam Hussein is indisputable; insiders have reported it and the PNAC secret blueprint for US global domination, authored by Dick Chency, Paul Wolfowitz and others, spells it out. With 9/11 providing the pretext for pre-emptive war, opportunity came, and they seized it.

“Saddam and WMDs” became their mantra. Whipping up a miasma of fear and anxiety by endless warnings of imminent danger, we were admonished to buy duct tape and report “suspicious behavior.” The media provided the megaphones, and we went along, becoming duly compliant xenophobic shoppers.

What a difference four years make. The palpable truth is upon us. Our government has unleashed unspeakable death and destruction on a country that posed no threat to us. Thousands of our soldiers are dead or maimed for life; our national debt has exploded; The Bill of Rights has been subverted; we’re less safe, less free, and we’ve been lied to every step of the way.

This Administration’s malfeasance is staggering: pre-emptive war, rejection of habeas corpus, illegal searches, secret wiretapping, human rights violations, secret military tribunals, torture, kidnapping, violations of treaties and international law. We’ve lost our respect and legitimacy in the world – and are now reviled as a hypocritical, lawless bully.

A PEW survey says, “...Anti-Americanism is deeper and broader now than at any time in modern history... On matters of international security, the rest of the world has become deeply suspicious of US motives and openly skeptical of its word.” This is not our parents’ America. This is a military/corporate empire run amok.

Our Constitution - the undisputed world standard for equality and justice under the law - has been routinely compromised and with little debate. Consider the provision tucked inside the 2006 defense budget giving the president power to declare martial law in response to: natural disaster, disease outbreak, terrorist attack, or “any other condition.“ Consider the president’s claim that he can ignore laws passed by the Congress, at will. Add to this the cynically named USA Patriot Act and you have the tyranny our founding father’s warned us against.

We’re in dark uncharted waters - so much lost, so much spent. But, worst of all, the fear mongering, the lies, the siege mentality that brought us here are the calculated constructs of the Bush administration.

After 9/11, there was world-wide sympathy and good will. One million people in the streets of Tehran marched in support of our country. Handled wisely, these horrific attacks could have brought global solidarity against extremism and terrorism. But the Bush administration chose a different course - one of hubris and power. With unmitigated swagger, they opened a Pandora’s Box.

It couldn’t be clearer. The nation is at a crossroads, and the voice of the people has never been more needed. If the argument of power silences us, our country, as we know it, will be gone.

Congress should be served notice. “We’re awake now! And we demand that our democracy be restored and this administration be held accountable!” It’s our patriotic duty, indeed, our sacred duty, to redress their egregious deeds and give the world reason to trust and respect us again.

Eva Knapp - Member of Seneca2