Thirteen O'clock in America, or IngCon Prolefeed Watch

It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell
1984.

An extremely disturbing trend of late (the past three years, that is) is the increased hostility toward and labeling of critics of the Bush administration -- or any of its policies -- as unpatriotic, leftist anarchists, and a characterization of the criticism as something akin to treason which somehow undermines the endeavors of our troops in Iraq. This is nothing new, of course, since the exact same thing happened in Bush 41's administration (where by a curious coincidence Donald Rumsfeld was a notable presence).

I won't argue the right of every American citizen to free speech, since this is supposed to be a well-established right (and not a privilege). But this subtle attempt to curb free speech is only part of a systematic effort to erode our civil liberties, with the ultimate threat being the so-called Patriot Act.

Notice how the Right cleverly employs its nomenclature -- the Patriot Act -- so that the very name carries with it the implication that anyone who would oppose its strictures must therefore be unpatriotic.

Watching all of the heavily armed soldiers running around the streets of New York, Boston, and Washington recently, I can't help but note that our open society no longer seems quite so open anymore. I understand the need for security, but the simple fact is that shutting down the country behind barbed wire is too eerily reminiscent of another society that we used to automatically associate with the same repressive displays of a conspicuous military presence.