Originally posted by GtoRA2
The patriot act is not as bad as some make it out, but its not a great thing, and I dont think the government needs more power over us.
True, it's not as evil as some insist, but I agree that terrorism can be combatted without the powers it instills.
The scariest part of the partriot act was the knee jerk way that it was created and voted into law. If something like 9/11 were to happen again I think we can expect marshal law.
Here's the problem with the patriot act:
There are plenty of nations that can make reasonable claims at being "free". But the US is unique from all of these because of the contents of the Bill of Rights. Eroding these rights, even by just a little, is basically saying:
"In order to preserve what makes us special, we have to stop being special."
I don't buy it.
The whole flag desecration thing is equally inane.
If you tell me that the flag is such an important symbol of our unique freedoms that destroying it no longer falls under the category of free expression, then my reply is that the unique freedoms represented by the flag no longer exist, that it is diminished as a symbol, and nobody should care if I destroy it.
