Undermining the Constitution one step at a time

A friend sent me a link to a piece by American author Naomi Wolf. It was originally published in The Guardian in the UK. It articulates the source of the unease that many Americans feel about the direction our country is heading under the current administration.

Excerpt:

"Because Americans like me were born in freedom, we have a hard time even considering that it is possible for us to become as unfree - domestically - as many other nations. Because we no longer learn much about our rights or our system of government - the task of being aware of the constitution has been outsourced from citizens’ ownership to being the domain of professionals such as lawyers and professors - we scarcely recognize the checks and balances that the founders put in place, even as they are being systematically dismantled..."

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/24/708/

Comments

[Lynn]

Wow, what a great piece. Thanks for the link. It's very frightening to see it all laid out, like a recipe. I've felt that way for a long time but couldn't articulate it as well as she did. So now we need the follow-up article on what can the people do to turn the tide. (I'm not sure a new president will solve all the problems - it can't hurt!)

[Di]

Read, posted on it too.
Interesting reading.

[Sarah]

I know that not everyone is incredibly politically self-aware, but I know government class was required when I was in high school and we definitely had the idea of checks-and-balances drilled in our heads. Also, as much as some people complain about the influx of immigrants, naturalization requirements insist that people learn about the government. I bet there are foreigners who know more about the US than native-born citizens. I definitely see what Naomi Wolf is saying, but I do think in this post-9/11, post-Patriot Act world, we are more aware of our rights and our government and the news stations, newspapers, and magazines have published a great deal cautioning us against allowing our rights to be forfeited in the name of fear.