Now, one of the genius aspects of our Constitution, and something that Americans are heralded for around the world is our individualism. Perhaps we’d like to think it comes from our innate orneriness, but a good deal is fostered by the fact that our government leaves us mostly alone. And it has had to, by law. We meddle with these laws at our peril. With more than 300 million of us now, it’s more important than ever to have protections against the power of the state for individuals. (I’d add we need some of these against corporations now, as well, but I’ll stay focused on government.)

 

It’s one thing that libertarians and “small government” Republicans have right (not that there are any of those left in Congress). Once you give up power, it’s hard to get back. And power is never given, you have to take it. We gave up rights that made America great, when the Congress passed, and the President signed, the military commissions act. Here’s a video illustrating the issue, by Amnesty International.

 

 

Now, the president says Democrats want terrorists to win when we point out such things. No, we want American ideals to win. The problem with the president’s formulation is that he gets to call whomever he wants a terrorist. And then the terrorists don’t get to challenge that designation. But they shouldn’t have to in the first place. It should be that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, not presumed terrorist, until you go crazy. Yes, people might need to be detained in the midst of battle. But after a while, you either treat them as prisoners of war, or put them in the US court system. It doesn’t matter what’s “legal.” That’s just the right thing to do. You shouldn’t have to have a law to do the right thing.

 

Many, many, many, many people have written far more eloquently than I on the subject of rights, and the power of the individual versus the state. I link to them below. It is our system of rights that makes us strong as a country, and what gives an individual the mental strength to innovate.