A monumental event in American History was called the Boston Tea Party. Outraged colonists angered by unfair taxes, and lack of representation under the cover of nightfall rowed out to large tea ships anchored in the Boston harbor and disguised like American Indians to protect their identities from British troops, they used hatchets and tossed the contents of the ship into the harbor.
It was perhaps one of the single most important events in pre American history. It showed British troops and a far off tyrant and members of British Parliament that Americans would refuse to be taken advantage of, and that when push came to shove Americans were willing and able to push back.
The colonists were severely chastised by British troops and many were taken into custody without proper provocation or legal warrants, these actions predominantly prompted the bill of rights that protects every American from prosecution from outlaw branches of government. It also set the basis for a model of governing that would spread across the globe and revolutionize democracy for over two hundred years.
Today democracy is once again challenged by unofficial and outlaw branches of government that maliciously ignore the bill of rights and persecute innocent civilians with terrorist tactics that make them fear for the freedoms that are guaranteed by the government since the American colonists ran British regulars out of US Territory and claimed independence from a foreign tyrant.
I am speaking of the Patriot Act, which aside from one word in its title has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism. A patriot fights against tyranny against which lesser people have no defense. They do not hold global imperialism to be a method of spreading the message of liberty, nor do they promote security at the sacrifice of personal liberties.
Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” Signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26 2001, The act expanded the authority of US Law enforcement agencies for the stated purpose of investigating and eliminating threats of terrorism both locally and abroad. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, which legally comes with a broad spectrum of definitions.
Among allowed activities government agencies under the blanket purpose of exposing and eliminating acts of terrorism which are not well defined, they can tap phone lines, monitor email and other electronic transmissions including web surfing. They are permitted by the Patriot act to without legal process examine financial and medical records, and has eased the restrictions on intelligence gathering activities. The act also expanded the Secretary of State's authority to regulate financial transactions of private civilians as well as large companies.
What did Benjamin Franklin mean when he said; “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” What did he mean by this statement? It has been noted throughout history that almost all of the great empires started with their roots in democracy, and nearly all of those began giving up liberties in the pursuit of security. Throughout history the use and manipulation of mass hysteria has been used numerous times by relentless tyrants to strip people of their rights and set in a controlled dictatorship, or form a mighty empire. More than any other predator fear of loss has been the downfall of the greatest of men.
