Anthony Swenson over at Coyote at the Dog Show posted some interesting thoughts regarding the constitutional right to travel. I am not prepared to comment about that but I would like, if I may, to take some of his words and observations and, after quoting them out of context, use them as a springboard for my own thoughts on the current state of affairs here in the land of the free. From Coyote at the Dog Show :

". . .Freedom to travel� is an issue we should all be considering right now. In the Reflections in the most recent Liberty (0203; no link) Paul Rako says �.. The men with guns at the airport were there for the sole purpose of getting the American people used to identity checks and interstate border crossings. That these efforts are succeeding is even more depressing than the success of the terrorists.� Says he: �Welcome to East Germany�. . .

". . .It's not about guns, it's about control."

Just so Mr. Coyote! Political (or some people prefer to call them conspiracy) theorists such as the late Mae Brussell and producer of For the Record and One Step Beyond (aired for the last 20 years on one of the greatest radio stations in the world - my world anyway - KFJC ), Dave Emory have seen the creeping fascism we have been witnessing in the wake of 9/11 coming a long way off. An excerpt from one of Mr. Emory's For The Record tape summaries:

"The 9/11/2001 attack can also be viewed as promoting the domestic political and police powers of the governing political interests. The fact that the 9/11 attacks have been followed by the passage of sweeping law enforcement and intelligence provisions which may be used to abridge the constitutional freedoms of American citizens and to stifle legitimate political dissent is not to be overlooked."

Stifling of real political discussion, let alone dissent, in the name of National Solidarity was without doubt one of the very real consequences of 9/11. At a time when we need to be asking serious questions about the causes of the 9/11 attacks and the state of the world and the country, we are being told to Speak No Evil against the Bush Administration. In my opinion it is impossible to do anything but. Does it seem suspicious to anybody else how Bush's popularity and approval rating soared after 9/11? Some of us who are really paranoid might suggest that The Bush Administration actually engineered the World Trade Center tragedy. No one can deny that George W. isn't milking the unfortunate event for all its worth.

In any case, I wish people would put down their flags and make an effort to think about things. Whatever the causes of the 9/11 attacks, it was a human tragedy. To glorify patriotism is to compound the disaster. Patriotism is no different than the other "isms" - racism, sexism, etc. - and there is a reason it rhymes with schism . The human community cannot be united so long as such red, white and blue modes of thought are employed.