Jeff Elkins: America or Amerika?

The stories are starting to pour in. Shuffling lines of resigned travelers at airports, subjected to full searches of checked luggage and intrusive frisks by minimum wage security drones. Serious calls for a national ID card. Truly odious laws and regulations being proposed by those who were elected to lead us and protect the Constitution, but who now want to 'protect' us and shred the Constitution. An already weakened Posse Comitatus Act is being tossed into the trash. And amazingly enough, a broad cross-section of so-called Americans are supporting their near-instantaneous conversion into State slaves. According to a new poll from Harris Interactive, 90 percent of over one thousand polled are cheering this blatant State power grab. People that one month ago were finally showing a healthy distrust for Federal government and State power at all levels are now bending over and practically requesting body cavity searches. 86 percent favor broad use of face-recognition technology to spy on their neighbors. 81 percent favor increased Federal powers to snoop through our financial records. 68 percent favor a national identity card. 63 percent want video surveillance of public places. 63 percent want controls on Internet transactions. 54 percent want State monitoring of cell phone conversations and email. That's not my America. That's the Amerika of my worst nightmares. How long until the already intrusive and unconstitutional 'checkpoints' for seat-belt and alcohol/drug violations are expanded in the cause of anti-terrorism? Will the sheeple and cowering fools of the Harris survey welcome a national passport being required to drive to Grandma's for a meaningless Thanksgiving celebrating everything they are blithely allowing to be destroyed? How long until the State turns its attention from our nail-clippers and decides that it's time to get really serious about disarming us? Will the Amerikan sheeple meekly hand over their deer rifles to our new Brownshirts? Do we have the will and the guts to fight? Not Osama bin Laden, but the enemies in our midst who hate us and fear freedom like a vampire fears the cross? Do we have the courage to tell President Bush: NO! Do we have the courage to tell John Ashcroft: You go to hell! Do we have the courage to tell Norman Mineta: You may NOT frisk me or search my baggage! We are truly at the crossroads. The time is rapidly approaching where we will have two choices: submit or fight. If that day comes, the majority will submit, but many will choose to fight – enough to make the carnage in New York City pale in comparison. That horrible vision can be averted, even now, at this terribly late hour. It's time for all who love liberty to engage in massive civil disobedience. Refuse to fly. Let the airliners sit empty on the runways. Let the airport gestapo frisk each other. Refuse to vote in Federal elections. Let the simpering blowdried scum in Washington DC be elected by ever-diminishing percentages of tax-eaters. Don't cooperate politely when some jackboot with a Glock asks for your papers or intrudes into your life in any way. Their war on drugs is being extended into a war on 'terror' and is rapidly expanding into a full-fledged war on all our cherished personal liberties. At the very least, be American enough to be rude. Vigorously protest the hundreds maybe thousands of local power grabs occurring daily by corrupt local police forces and sheriffs departments. Don't buy the lies they are feeding you. It won't be anonymous FBI agents manning the roadblocks and tapping your telephones, it will be Officer Friendly, who lives right next door. Local sheriffs are usually elected, not appointed. Insist that your local sheriff maintain independence from Federal authorities or toss him out of office. Don't allow yourself to be sucked into the war hysteria. The only war occurring now is a war on your freedom. The State will forge that hysteria into a mighty sword and plunge it into your vitals. Arm yourself while you still can. If your state 'allows' concealed carry, flood them with unconstitutional requests for 'permission slips' so that they know without a doubt that they are facing an armed populace. If you live in a Sovietized state, demand the right to be armed by organizing marches, massive petition drives, calls to local talk radio, etc. Be loud and be angry. Or simply move, before you're forbidden to. The clock is ticking. America or Amerika, it's still your choice. But not for long.

Jeff Elkins is a freelance consultant and writer living in North Central Florida.