In 218 BC, shortly before the outbreak of the Second Punic War, a considerable amount of land had begun to amass into a dominion we know today as the Roman Empire. While the 91,000 square-miles of land in present-day Italy, which had found itself under the rule of the Roman Republic, isn't exactly what one would consider massive; it was, nonetheless, the point at which the course of history was to be changed indefinitely. The Roman Republic reached, what former Washington Post journalist Malcom Gladwell would call, its "tipping point."
From Italy, the empire would expand to Sicily, from Sicily to Spain, from Spain to Macedonia, from Macedonia to Carthage, from Carthage to Syria, from Syria to Cyprus, and from Cyprus to Gaul, leading up to the point when Julius Caesar would be assassinated, allowing his grand-nephew Octavian (also known as Augustus) become the first emperor. After the Age of Augustus, power would be transferred to Tiberius, from Tiberius to Caligula who was assassinated shortly thereafter, from Caligula to Claudius, from Claudius to Nero until his suicide in 68 AD. After Nero came Vespasian, then Titus who may-or-may-not have been murdered by Domitian, who was in-turn murdered by his own Senate, then came the "Five Good Emperors" until a foiled assassination attempt drove Marcus Aurelius insane, and so began the Severan Dynasty founded by a ruler named Severus. Then came Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus, Alexander Severus, Diocletian, Maximian, and Maximinus. They all came to their respective demise; assassinated, forced to resign, murdered, slain, committed suicide, assassinated, and forced to flee. All-the-while, the empire continued to expand and expand and expand and expand -- amalgamating an incredible 2,300,000 square-miles of land at its height.
Through a governmental see-saw, the Roman Empire is a prime example of one of man's greatest desires: power. And as history would show; where there exists too much power, corruption and abuse is bound to follow, thus allowing for the numerous assassinations noted.
As the famous political philosopher Edmund Burke once said, "The greater the powers, the more dangerous the abuse." Burke's contention is plainly and dramatically emphasized in the period of the Roman Empire, but could a similar circumstance be heading in the direction of the United States? Discouragingly enough, the American public seems to be turning a blind-eye to the slowly accruing political power which is being literally handed to the government under the Bush Administration.
The recently signed Military Commissions Act of 2006 is truly the epitome of what the democratic form of government had hoped to protect from ever occurring. And with the flick-of-a-wrist and a tip-of-the-hat, President George W. Bush suspended Habeas Corpus and consequently abolished all freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, with the exception of the protection from quartering of troops.
For those of you who haven't the slightest idea what Habeas Corpus is, you are at no fault, for it was the intention of the government to prevent as much publicity of this suspension as possible. I'll give you a hint: if you're a fan of trial-by-jury, you're not going to be happy.
No longer does an American citizen have the right to protest the suspension of his or her freedom in the confines of a court room. Simply stated: go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. No trial, no lawyers, no judge, no jury. If Bush feels so inclined to declare any given American an "unlawful enemy combatant" (although the definition of this phrase is not included in this piece of legislation), he may incarcerate them for as long as he deems necessary, and use means of torture to the point of "serious mental and physical trauma," until you admit to your guilt.
My friends, this as clear-cut as abuse of power gets. Our rights are being infringed upon; and to those who don't believe said power will be abused, I ask of you, why does President Bush need this dictatorial power? And to those who believe that this power will be applied upon American citizens, you need only look to the history of this country to find your answer.
In his riveting speech to the nation, host of MSNBC's Countdown Keith Olberman recalls consonant acts which have been passed in America's history:
"We have been here when President John Adams insisted that the Alien and Sedition Acts were necessary to save American lives - only to watch him use those Acts to jail newspaper editors.
American newspaper editors, in American jails, for things they wrote, about America.
We have been here, when President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the Espionage Act was necessary to save American lives - only to watch him use that Act to prosecute 2,000 Americans, especially those he disparaged as "Hyphenated Americans," most of whom were guilty only of advocating peace in a time of war.
American public speakers, in American jails, for things they said, about America.
And we have been here when President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted that Executive Order 9-0-6-6 was necessary to save American lives - only to watch him use that Order to imprison and pauperize 110-thousand Americans...
American citizens, in American camps, for something they neither wrote nor said nor did - but for the choices they or their ancestors had made, about coming to America."
It would be foolish to disregard the possibility of governmental corruption. It's historic. We must learn from our past to prevent it from happening again in the future -- it's the oldest saying in-the-book.
And that's all it takes: the possibility. This bill might not affect us now, it might not affect us in five years, it might not affect us in fifty; but the chance that it might will always remain. If, by some stretch-of-the-mind, an incompetent leader does take office, one who has little regard for the well-being of his people (as was seen in the Roman Empire on multiple occasions), what's standing in the way of him and a totalitarian government?
We should not be sitting in our homes, wondering whether or not today is the day when our president locks-us-up for a crime we didn't commit. We shouldn't be sitting hoping that such a day never comes around.
This is a democracy, and the power is delegated to the people.
The Tenth Amendment so reads, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."
Such blatant insouciance for Amendments 4-8, which grant us protection from unreasonable search and seizure, protection from self-incrimination, a trial by jury, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment, is grounds for impeachment. But at the least, let us call for reform before it's to late.
In a 2005 Gallup Poll showed that 49% of Americans felt that the Patriot Act did not go too far in trying to catch terrorists; however, 85% of Americans admitted knowing either some, not much, or nothing about the bill -- 28%, 28%, and 29%, respectively. While this might initially seem to show that Americans don't mind giving up their liberties; upon closer investigation, it strikingly proves that Americans are nonchalant towards the actions of their government. To be sure, some will argue that the American public simply trusts its own government; we can clearly see that this trust is misapplied and this is simply a case of Americans being manipulated by their own government. And although the levels of Americans who know little-to-nothing about the bill remains astoundingly low, the number has nevertheless slowly increased in the past four years, and directly correlated with this increasing number was an increase in the percentage of Americans who felt that their liberties were being infringed-upon.
After its signing, several sections of the Patriot Act were declared unconstitutional by federal courts due in-part to the actions of a select group of Americans who stood up for their liberties. Allowing for baseless wiretapping and invasion of privacy is as insignificant as a pebble dropping in water during a hurricane compared to the unrestrained suspension of Habeas Corpus contained the Commissions Act.
It is imperative that we act, and do so quickly. These are our freedoms, and we, as Americans, are the only ones who can protect them. Let us not forget the very definition of the word democracy: a government by the people, a government which is prevented from corruption by the constant supervision of the people. I ask only that you do not stand by. That you take action, and fight for our freedoms -- if for no other reason, simply in the spirit of democracy and the founding fathers who created this great country.
Even after the eventual fall of the Roman Empire, its lasting effects were evident. Coincidentally, the United States itself derives portions of our law and governmental philosophy, including the Presidency. In creating the Presidency, the Founding Fathers hoped to create an "Augustan Age." Both providentially and strategically, this country has long out-lasted the 45 years that the Age of Augustus existed.
The 300th anniversary of the United States of America is in the near-future, and it is my hope that we will reach that milestone not in chaos or corruption, but in the same innovative way in which we have reached into the 21st century. Perhaps then we can rest comfortably on the globally-warmed, increasingly polluted, shores of the Atlantic; rest-assured that, no matter what obstacle that presents itself -- whether it be global warming, pollution, or anything else -- our future as a country will still be in-tact and the freedoms we enjoy today will still be available to the generations which lay ahead.
I'm crossing my fingers. Are you?
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