I often wonder what the mood was right in the middle of the great depression. When the big government, tax and spend folks swooped into town claiming that their way would pull us out of recession, did they (along with many media outlets) vilify individuals and attack belief systems that were counter to their own?
Here is a report released by the department of Homeland Security on April 7, maybe you have heard about this already...maybe not.
Right Wing Extremism Threat
I would be interested to know if other documents like this have been released in the past. If you read the fine print, and the big print, there are some shocking claims in this document, which aims to warn law enforcement agencies around the country of people like me.
"Right wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly anti government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."
The quote above was taken from this document. Does anything here bother you? I am bothered by two things.
First: The idea that we should reject federal authority in favor of state authority is very constitutional. It was the states that ratified our constitution and gave the Federal government the powers that it has. Our 10th amendment says that any powers not delegated to the federal government are the responsibility of the state. There are plenty of things our federal government does that are not explicitly mentioned in the constitution, meaning it is entirely lawful for a state to enact its own laws that supersede federal authority. Since there is no mention of specific laws here, I can only assume that the Department of Homeland Security assumes that all federal authority supersedes the state authority.
Second: Abortion? Immigration? Are these issues really at the top of the list? I don't know what I can say about this. Are they really implying that those against the killing of babies are right wing extremists?
The document also [basically] says that white supremacists could be upset over the election of an African-American president and that veterans returning from combat are susceptible to recruitment by right wing extremist organizations....so watch out!
Since I am now lumped into the same group as white supremacists and the likes of Timothy McVeigh, I guess I am in trouble now. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my beliefs and support the socialist, anti-god tenants that are required here?
I may be way off-base here, but I would be happy for someone to read this document and tell me where I have gone wrong. I would be comforted to know that law enforcement is not being conditioned to suspect people on these conditions. This is disturbing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
More people than you are finding this disturbing. It is becoming national news. I was watching NBC this morning and Matt Lauer did an interview with a Homeland Honcho about this report. He actually sounded fired up about it too (at which I was VERY VERY shocked). He gave a quote from John Boehner about how it is despicable to send our military people off to war to protect our country and put their lives on the line, then bring them home and say they now have tendencies to be converted to right-wing extremism (my words, not John Boehners). I totally agree. It is sickening!
ReplyDeleteAny legitimate view, for example, opposition to abortion, can be presented in a reasonable manner (debate, publications etc.) or an irrational, extremist manner (blowing up clinics). The same goes for typically left views. A good example would be environmental activists who at the extreme destroy property (and potentially hurt innocent people) of those perceived as in opposition to their agenda. Like I said, I didn't have time to read the article, but perhaps it was saying that right wing extremists tend to hold these views, that is very different from saying people who hold these views are right wing extremists.
ReplyDelete