Looking back, the very first post was a call not to censor even a radical "jihadist" with proven ties to terrorists -- so we used to say in those days, still in the wake of the 9/11 and on the very eve of the Iraq War. It does call for the infiltration of the audience as a means of using the radical speaker as a kind of flypaper to attract the genuinely dangerous youth.
Both of those facets are still quite relevant twenty years on: free speech is under increasing attack as a way of counteracting radicals -- who turn out to be ourselves, and not the 'jihadists' we thought we would be concerned about. Meanwhile the government's shift of enemies from radical Islamists to old-fashioned Americans has caused the 'infiltration' strategy to shift to an actual construction of flypaper groups, organized and led by government informants. I do remember that Patriot Act opponents in those days warned us that these grand new powers would be turned against us; turns out they were right about every part of that.
A lot has changed since those days on the sunny slopes of long ago. Not all of the change was for the worse. Thank you for your company along the way.
I had thought that the Patriot Act was not much worse than what had gone before under Clinton. "We ate that banana years ago," as Wally said in Dilbert. I don't know the answer to that, even upon review, but it is clear things have gone too far, so even if it was only a 1% increase in surveillance powers, it was a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriot Act is one of those places where I feel like I was wrong, way back when; that close to 9/11, I was much more concerned about the dangers of foreign threats than our own government. Indeed, I can see from the posts of that week that I felt especial faith for our military, which at the time seemed to exemplify and personify values of great personal importance to me (especially chivalry, which comes up twice in that week's discussion).
ReplyDeleteIt's probably still true that the workaday soldier and Marine is a hardened professional who believes in honor, and even in chivalry -- though perhaps not by that name, as it has been subject to continuous criticism as a sort-of sexism, but as a duty of the strong to uphold and defend the weak. Even the enemy's weak are to be upheld and defended, and the fight carried to the foe with care for the innocent around him. The leadership has suffered a significant collapse, both in morality and in professionalism, as we have sadly seen. The ordinary fighting man is probably still ok.
Yet sadly the critics and cynics proved right on the broader point. The government proved to fear us, America's own most patriotic and loyal demographic, far more than they feared the enemies in whose name the asked for the power. Especially under the Obama administration and the Biden one, but even during the Bush and Trump administrations, the American government has turned its force against its own people, our traditional liberties, and indeed our traditions per se. We all laughed at Donald Trump when he said that if we allowed Robert E. Lee to go down, George Washington would be next -- but Washington really was almost next, with a very short set of hops in between them. We all rolled our eyes when George W. Bush kept talking about how Islam was a 'religion of peace,' but understood he was trying to keep the war contained to those we really had no choice but to fight; but then we see Christianity painted as intolerant, while at the same time Joe Biden uses the phase 'almost sinful' to portray political opposition to child sex-reassignment surgery and drugs.
In the innocence of my distant youth, I did not perceive all of this clearly. I still had a lot of faith, especially in the military and its values, but also in America as an institution. The rot of its core and leadership was not yet apparent to me.
Outstanding blog, congratulations on the anniversary.
ReplyDeleteThank you for creating this blog. I have learned so much here that I am eternally grateful. Well done, sir.
ReplyDeleteYou've done a fine thing here, Grim. I too have learned a great deal here, and I also feel like part of a good community. Thank you Grim and everyone at the Hall!
ReplyDeleteJoining the rest in congratulations on your tenacity and sagacity--plus your willingness to share a large treasury of smarts!
ReplyDeleteBy the way: the first iteration of the Patriot Act was so obviously intrusive that both Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) a VERY conservative House member, and Russ Feingold (D-WI) an extreme Lefty Senator, opposed it.
The compromise version was enacted. But only the honor of the agents and executors of the law is what counts. And there is no honor with any of them.
A belated happy blogaversary! Thank you for keeping the Hall such a fascinating and thought-full place.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1
I was actually wondering a few days ago if it had been that long.
ReplyDeleteVery well done, Grim.