Here are some thoughts from a guy who really wonders about our freedoms as we celebrate the Fourth of July today.
I’m hoping that the scheduled “tea party” on the Mercer County Courthouse lawn isn’t just a shill for right-wing or religious group chest-thumping. Not that there is anything wrong with freely expressing those views in America, but if that’s the intent of the gathering, advertise it that way.
It is being advertised as a serious protest against the direction our country is headed, including high taxes and socialism. And that affects everyone on all sides of the political and social spectrum.
When Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 it was supposed to deal with “self-evident truths.” But those were simpler times. Are any truths today “self-evident”?
We move closer to socialism with the recent government involvement in banks and automakers and soon health care. While I fully understand that Social Security and Medicare are forms of socialism, I never want to see complete government control of our lives.
While I don’t listen to right-wing radio talk shows very often, I got a kick out of an assessment by one about our public schools. He said they aren’t really public schools in this country, they are actually “government schools and that’s why we have so many dumb-asses.”
He’s probably right. So much for no child left behind!
We swing closer and closer to a police state. The courts OK’d what was once illegal search and seizure by permitting the supposed “DUI checkpoints” that stop everyone, even mostly innocent drivers.
And even if the Supreme Court has allowed these because of the danger of drunk drivers, why are the police allowed to file other charges? Not that I like the fact that people drive without seatbelts, or suspended licenses or outdated insurance, but I always wondered: How are police allowed to question anything other than if you are driving drunk?
When my son was stopped one time (he wasn’t drinking) at a checkpoint, one of the Hermitage cops leaned in the car window and said to his wife: “How old are you?”
Luckily my son has a cooler demeanor than I!
Because of the “Patriot Act” we suddenly have the government looking into phone calls and Internet activities on the slimmest of excuses. And of course they can lock you up at Gitmo without even giving a reason and without your contacting an attorney.
I agree there is a lot of need for real tea parties, named of course for the Boston Tea Party protests against taxation from England.
Taxes today are out of hand at every level. Look at our area school boards. They give raises to their employees, even though the average people who pay their salaries have lost their jobs or taken pay cuts. It’s disgusting.
Our freedoms in America are slowly slipping away. And only the people themselves can eventually turn the tide.
Happy Fourth of July!
The Herald’s Lynn Saternow writes this weekly column for the Opinion Page.
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SATERNOW: We have fewer freedoms to celebrate on July Fourth
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