A word to the wise (thanks to James Bow)
Silly me; I grew up thinking that this is America, where freedom of speech is still a cherished part of the Bill of Rights. Guess what, y’all; our post- 9.11 reality seems to be somewhat different. Express yourself freely often enough and the terrorists will win.
This reality was not created on 9.11. This was created by George W. Bush and John Ashcroft, who seem to think that killing the patient is the best way to save it. Yes, we’ll protect the Bill of Rights by suppressing the rights actually enshrined within the Bill of Rights. Along the way, we’re create our own little Imperial Presidency.
All Hail King George!
A couple of weeks ago, following the last presidential debate, I said some rather inflammatory things about George W. Bush in a public post in my LJ, done in a satirical style. We laughed, we ranted, we all said some things. I thought it was a fairly harmless (and rather obvious) attempt at humor in the face of annoyance, and while a couple of people were offended, as is typical behavior from me, I saw something shiny and forgot about it, thinking that the whole thing was over and done and nothing else would come of what I said.
I was wrong.
At 9:45 last night, the Secret Service showed up on my mother’s front door to talk to me about what I said about the President, as what I said could apparently be misconstrued as a threat to his life. After about ten minutes of talking to me and my family, they quickly came to the conclusion that I was not a threat to national security (mostly because we are the least threatening people in the entire world) and told me that they would not recommend that any further action be taken with my case. However, I do now have a file with the FBI that includes my photograph, my e-mail address, and the location of my LJ. This will follow me around for the rest of my life, regardless of the fact that the Secret Service knows that I am not a threat.
Obviously, I cannot link to the original LJ post that I made, because I have removed it from my LJ to protect myself and those who commented in that thread from receiving any further visits from the FBI. I apologized for the miscommunication, though I did not apologize for voicing my opinion of George W. Bush.
Now, I’m feeling left out. I want my visit from the jack-booted thugs. I detest George W. Bush (the politician) and everything he and his Neo-Conservative cabal stand for…and yet no one from the FBI has darkened my doorstep. Hmm…am I not being clear enough?
It’s a sad day when someone who maintains a weblog is harrassed by the FBI for the legitimate (and Constitutionally-protected, lest we forget) expression of political views. That these views may be opposed to the policies of our Prevaricator-in-Chief should make no difference. Dissent is a protected right under our Constitution…or at least it used to be.
Sometime between now and Tuesday, I fully expect to get a knock on my door. Just a suggestion…if y’all call ahead, I’ll make sure we have enough beer, chips, and salsa for all y’all. I’ll even give you directions if you need them. It’s tough to miss us; we live on a cul-de-sac
