Steve Kubby: It's The Constitution, Stupid!

Despite all the rhetoric and mobilization of the police and military, the only real act of successfully opposing terrorists occurred when civilians took matters into their own hands on the fourth hijacked plane on September 11. While our government has failed miserably to protect anyone, this foiling of a fourth attack, apparently targeted against the White House, shows that our fellow citizens are still our best defense.

Homeland security and wars against terrorism are not enough. Even a return to a prosperous economy is not enough. Americans demand and deserve something far more important: the protection and defense of America's Bill of Rights.

Our highest priority is, has always been, and should always be, defending the inalienable rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Every elected official and military officer is sworn to "protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic," not the President or Congress.

Brave American men and woman gave their lives to defend and uphold our Constitution. That's why all Americans must oppose any action that undermines those freedoms or betrays these brave patriots and the rights they fought to uphold. These courageous Americans understood that inalienable rights cannot be separated from us by any law, regulation, Presidential order or Supreme Court. We need to respect and uphold our inalienable rights as indivisible and absolute.

Anything in any bill before any legislature that would infringe on our rights should be seen as a an unpatriotic action that helps terrorists by undermining our heritage as a freedom-loving country. Those who tell us that we must give up our freedom to fight terrorism betray our American ideals and the real patriots who fought to make America a beacon for freedom and justice.

Now, all of that is about to change. President Bush wants to use a secret federal court to override the very Constitutional protections that make our country so great. This federal court has been in secret operation for 20 years and has approved 10,000 searches and surveillance and rejected only one request. If Bush gets his wish, due process will be suspended as these cases are expanded to include criminal cases against American citizens and no one will be allowed to even see the evidence used against them. In California, the Bush administration is already escalating its war of terror against medical marijuana patients, using similar secret courts, sealed warrants and even raiding attorneys' and doctors' offices, in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Where does our duty lie when both America and our Constitution are under attack on two very different fronts? Certainly not to our inept political leaders, who got us all into this mess with their constant meddling in the affairs of other countries. No, our duty clearly lies with those patriots who have given their lives for our American freedom and democracy. It is to those courageous and truly patriotic Americans that we must be true -- by upholding our precious Constitution and Bill of Rights, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

It is time for America to act with its brains, not its brawn, and uphold the very principles that have made America the greatest nation in the world. America must continue to earn the respect of other countries for its commitment to freedom and human rights, not because of it military or economic strength. Whatever course our great country may take, let us resolve that it will be our glorious Constitution and Bill of Rights, not fear or false promises of security, that illuminate our path.

Steve Kubby