Thread: True Loyalty vs. TSA Treason

True Loyalty vs. TSA Treason
December 6, 2010 Billboard, Columns, Latest News & Quotes, Relevant Articles, TSA

By Wesley Strackbein

Face reality, good citizens. It’s not wise to question the tyranny behind the TSA’s groping of innocent travelers or gawking at your loved ones’ naked bodies. Never mind the Constitution; we must abridge your liberties in order to protect you from harm. Show loyalty to America—these new measures are for your good.

We live in a world turned upside down. Our rights are being violated in the name of keeping us safe. And in this new Orwellian reality where civil liberties are being trampled on in the name of the Patriot Act, and loyalty to our country is being measured in terms of willing compliance with tyrants, we must wake from our confused stupor and look to the past.

What Americans need to know is this: Our Founding Fathers decried these specious arguments and warned the citizenry not to fall prey to them.

As England grew increasingly despotic toward Americans in the days leading up to 1776, liberty-minded patriots rose up in opposition to violations of their rights. Their response was not well-received by the King and Parliament who demanded slavish fealty to the British Crown. The patriots insisted on loyalty to the law instead. Boston patriot Sam Adams declared:

True loyalty . . . cannot subsist in an arbitrary government, because it is founded in the love and possession of liberty. . . . it is the scourge of the griping oppressor and haughty invader of our liberties. . . . Whoever, therefore, insinuates notions of government contrary to the constitution, or in any degree winks at any measures to suppress or even weaken them, is not a loyal man. Whoever acquaints us that we have no right to examine into the conduct of those who, though they derive their power from us to serve the common interests, make use of it to impoverish or ruin us, is, in a degree, a rebel to the undoubted rights and liberties of the people.

Adams’s point was clear: Fidelity to fundamental laws, not fealty to a despotic state, is what defines true loyalty, and anyone who seeks to subvert constitutional rights for some pretended greater good is a traitor. Those who would silence objections to tyranny are rebels. Those truly loyal to the Constitution must resist.

James Otis, a fellow Boston patriot, agreed with Adams’ point. When Parliament issued the Writs of Assistance in 1760 which established general warrants which authorized customs officials to search for smuggled material within any American colonists’ premises—regardless of whether there was probable cause for wrongdoing or not—Otis objected, describing England’s policy as an “[instrument] of slavery on the one hand and villainy on the other. . . . It appears to me the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles of law that ever was found in an English law-book.â€

Thanks kathyet. That was a great read.

I was in South Dakota last week and after a long day decided I would like to have a beer, eat some crackers, and read a book to wind down. Upon trying to purchase my beer with fiat dollar bills, I was asked to produce ID. Given my age, this seems absurd, for even a blind man would have the capacities to determine my age was above the legal age limit due to the harshness of age on the vocal chords. In other words I am certain that not only do I have all of the visual signs, but my voice should be clue as well. I produced the driver's license and figured that the gal would look at the date of birth, the picture, and hand it back to me......wrong. She took my license and swiped it in a electronic card reader. My license has a bar code on the reverse side with all of the vitals that the issuing state following the federal mandates require.

Had I known that my license would have been scanned and info stored or sent to a corporate data base, I would have told them to keep their beer. It was done real quick and not with my consent.

Why should I have to surrender my personal information in order to buy a beer?

So with the purchase of a product, my info, the time of purchase, and locality could all be gathered. So my beer produces my whereabouts and illegals still run amuck?

The lady behind the register told me that the info went to corporate headquarters and that it could go to a law enforcement data base. I took that with a grain of salt and talked to some other folks from South Dakota and they told me that, this electronic reader only gathers the birth date from the bar code. This seems logical,......perhaps. BUT, why should I trust a electronic card reader? Would I know the difference between just a birth date, or other info being scanned. Would the process of going through the motions and allowing such a scan lead to farther encroachments?

All of this for a single can of beer. I think we may be headed in the wrong direction.

We need to deauthorize, defund and render defunct, the TSA, pocket the $7 billion + a year that we're wasting on peepers, rubbers and gropers, and tell the airlines and airports to handle their own security without any federal intervention.

Judy wrote,

We need to deauthorize, defund and render defunct, the TSA, pocket the $7 billion + a year that we're wasting on peepers, rubbers and gropers, and tell the airlines and airports to handle their own security without any federal intervention.

Thanks Judy. I love it when you bring reasoning down to the simplistic level......so simple for the simple minded..........like myself.

I agree 110%.