Rohnert Park, CA
April 27, 2016
N. B.: Below is the first article I ever had published. It was written
over 12 years ago and constituted a dire warning to our country that
our nation was in deep trouble. I was so timid and concerned about
my safety that I wrote under a pseudonym. Today, things are far
worse than they were back then. I send this to you as a reminder
of the great need for action. Although some of the names and
suggestions no longer apply, you can fill in your own leaders and
ideas on how best to restore liberty.
Rich Scheck
Palo Alto, CA
October 2, 2003
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A Call to Action: Overcoming the Triumph of Fear
by Ritchie Gemini
This is a perilous moment in American history: despite the unique tradition of liberty and freedom articulated in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution, the last election has seen the triumph of fear in our political life.
The greatest threat to the civil rights of US citizens has become official government policy. Orwellian statutes evoking images of the Gestapo and the KGB are now the law of the land. Homeland Security and The Patriot Act along with Total Information Awareness, TIPS, the Office of Strategic Influence and a litany of other programs have emerged from the minds of our leaders in what is best described as a gross over-reaction to the tragedy of 911.
This domestic program of excess is matched by an imperialistic foreign policy that threatens to alienate the entire world against us. Worse yet is the clear possibility that our attack against Iraq will unleash regional and global turmoil that may lead to perpetual war.
With a $400 billion defense budget plus large increases for our intelligence agencies to fight terrorism, the federal government has morphed into a Leviathan worthy of President Eisenhower’s admonition for us “to beware of the Military-Industrial Complex.”
Words can barely capture the threat to our body politic represented by these developments. Despite the warnings by our founders “to avoid foreign entanglements,” our DC decision-makers have embarked on a journey of intervention that makes Wilson’s quest to make the world safe for democracy seem timid by comparison.
The administration has manipulated the Congress, NATO and the UN to accept its doctrines of preemption and prevention. Simultaneously it has rejected Kyoto, the ICC and the ABM Treaty in a stroke of boldness only surpassed by their contempt for the rule of law.
These developments in reaction to 911 require a call to action by an aroused citizenry.
The sense of urgency and degree of risk manifested by these new realities call for a powerful response by the American electorate.
In the face of 2 party paralysis and a virtual lock on the election process, a strategy of protest is essential to stop the rush to war and reverse the policies of confrontation and intimidation adopted by the Bush foreign policy team.
All who are outraged by this state of affairs are asked to take the following steps:
1. Immediately suspend focus on your current agenda and switch to protest the national security state described above;
2. Increase your level of activity by writing articles, holding meetings and sending e-mails describing your concerns;
3. Organize protests and boycotts to challenge politicians and businesses that stand to benefit from these new programs;
4. Begin a campaign for elective office to oppose incumbents supporting perpetual war and corporate welfare;
5. Be part of an internet write-in campaign promoting anti-war candidates such as Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Scott Ritter to run for President and VP in 2004.
Adoption of these measures with the sense of urgency and commitment demanded by the current conditions creates the potential for overcoming the triumph of fear reflected in recent events. The American people have the ability to do this.
By calling on the great traditions inherent in our legacy of liberty, we can achieve a triumph of hope and restore the heritage of freedom promised to us by those who created our system of government.
The time to do so is now. Let us begin.
Ritchie Gemini is a political activist based in Northern California.
Postscript: I am struck on how prescient these remarks were in
anticipating the rise of the Occupy Movement and The Tea Party
as well as the candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
It may take many more elections before these groups finally unite
into a coherent force that can take on the one-party duopoly but
here is one possibility of what that might look like:
https://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=32281