These days, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights is under attack from the right, and even moderates of both stripes wonder what the ACLU is thinking when it takes on some of the cases you see in the headlines. But, while you may agree or disagree on certain or even all the issues, we must all be reminded at times what those two documents mean, not only to us as Americans, but to people around the world.
For all our faults, and we have many, the Constitution holds a promise greater than the men who wrote it and the individual citizens who make up this great nation. It is the promise of freedom, opportunity and equality. It is the road map to a brighter future and the reminder of the courage of the past. It is a beacon of hope for many around the world still living in the darkness of oppression and poverty. It is a reminder that the mind of men, while containing the seeds of evil and hate, is capable of envisioning a better place that is as of yet still unreached.
These documents were written by white, slave owning, male members of a landed gentry class not far removed from the one left behind in England, to protect and promote the ideals of liberty and equality set forth in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
At first it was only white males who could partake of this glorious new equality, but in time and with great struggle, those ideals would extend to women and then finally to our African American brethren. However, our journey has not ended. The struggle for true equality goes on as in this time of fear and uncertainty, we are once again faced with a challenge to these ideals. It is in these times, more than any other, that we must stay true to the promise set forth in those documents written so long ago. Yes, we must defend our homeland, but more importantly, we must defend the Constitution.
Gregory P. Colvin
I recently received this comment regarding my posting "Yes, We Have No Photos Today," from Peter who writes
"Reporter's Private Notebook.""I visited Abu Ghraib this spring, and it's not the same place from a year ago. The Iraqis have taken over all the hard structures. Basically, these days the real story out of this prison is that there is no story. The prisoners receive very good treatment. Also, most of those being held by the Americans are foreign fighters.
"Perhaps you should get on a plane and take a look for yourself." This is the response I emailed him:
Peter, you missed the point I was trying to get at in the first place when you tell me that now Abu Ghraib is now a great place for the prisoners. The point of my posting was not that conditions have or have not changed, the point was that the Bush administration is again preventing the people of the United States of America from finding out how our government is conducting its business in our name. Whatever the current situation, bad or good, we, as American citizens, have an obligation to make sure our government is conducting itself in the proper manner. No manner what the rationale, torture is unacceptable to members of a civilized society.
True, we live in a new and more dangerous world, and the desire to obtain intelligence in order to prevent the next attack is a good one, but if we ignore the principles by which we live and stoop to this level, how can we claim to be any better than the terrorists we fear? We are the people the world, until now, has looked to for an example of equality, justice and prosperity when many live under tyranny, suffer injustice and languish in poverty. When it comes down to it, we are supposed to be the guys in the white hats. Would John Wayne or Gary Cooper be posing behind piles of naked Indians (Native Americans for all my PC friends). NO!
Our government is ultimately responsible to the people of the United States whether they like it or not, and with very few exceptions, you would be hard pressed to find people that think torturing anyone is a civilized practice. These photos are not matters of national security. If they were, the first photos should not have been released. An inquiry into the lengths this kind of activity has gone is not only right, it is imperative in order to prevent it from happening in the future. Since the Pentagon and the White House don't feel that it is necessary, it has fallen to watchdog groups outside of the government to do so. It's unfortunate that it has to be that way, but that's where we're at.
I would love to be able to get on a plane and report on what is really going on in Iraq, but I'm not yet an accredited reporter, and kudos to you that you are. What I am, however , is a concerned citizen with the right to question my government, which I will remain until somebody manages to rescind the First Amendment, in which case, we'll both be out of business.
