Warning Signs

Lady Liberty

I've been politically active for some years now. At various times, I've lobbied my representatives on behalf of the space program and on Second Amendment issues. I've written letters concerning immigration and foreign policy. I've made phone calls and sent faxes regarding privacy matters. Sometimes I get answers I appreciate. Other times, I get answers I don't really appreciate, but at least I get satisfaction from knowing my views were heard and considered. Occasionally, I get no answer at all. But no matter what topic I'm addressing, or how any response is framed, I've never felt any more or less than a participant in the political process. At least, I haven't felt anything other than that until recently...

As time has passed, it should come as no real surprise to anyone that my activism has increased. The more I learned about the activities of my legislators and our law enforcement authorities, the more I could see needed to be changed. I'm now so vested in working to restore liberty in America that I strongly support the Free State Project [http://www.freestateproject.org] as well as the Free West [http://www.freewest.org] and Free State Wyoming projects. How strongly? Strongly enough that I fully intend to relocate and do my part for freedom.

I have a close friend who's very unhappy about my plans to move. I thought it was because, well, I'd be moving. But no, she says, that's not it at all. She fears that any Free State, no matter where it's located, will prove a target for the federal government. In her words, she says she's afraid there will be "another Waco" and that I'll be caught up in it. I believe that her worries are greatly exaggerated. But when I asked her if she truly thought that might happen, she said she did. I gave her the only answer I could: If she's right, how could I not work to mitigate a government that would do something like that?

Of course, while I do continue to believe that my girlfriend is worrying over something that's not going to happen, I've found that other friends of mine have concerns of their own. In speaking with an acquaintance who is also something of a political activist, he confided in me what he called "an embarrassing incident." He was out target shooting on private property (with permission) when he and his friends heard helicopters overhead. Although none of them were breaking any laws, and despite the fact that none of them were wanted by any authorities for any reason, several of them had the initial urge to duck and hide from view. When they saw each other's reaction, they laughed it off. But now these men no longer need to imagine what it would be like to live in a country where they fear their government.

It's not so hard for the rest of us to imagine any more, either, especially when so many of us have now been at least loosely designated as some sort of enemy of the state. WBAI Radio in New York City referred to "Hoover's Long Shadow" [http://www.wbai.org/artman/publish/article\_673.php] when it told its listeners and online readers about an FBI memo that detailed surveillance of anti-war protesters. In a nutshell, the memo "urged police to keep close tabs on protesters." This is much the same instruction FBI agents were given in the Hoover years, and why guidelines were subsequently framed to prohibit the FBI from syping on domestic organizations. Those guidelines, however, have been essentially trashed by Attorney General John Ashcroft, and the repercussions for free speech, freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition the government for redress are endangered as a result. If you've spoken out against the War in Iraq or the War on Terrorism, chances are good the FBI knows who you are. What they'll do with the knowledge remains to be seen.

More recently, the FBI decided that people carrying almanacs might prove to be a threat. CNN reported [http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/29/fbi.almanacs.ap/] that the FBI issued a bulletin to some 18,000 police organizations telling them that "terrorists may use almanacs" in planning their attacks. The memo suggested that police pay attention when they conducted traffic stops or drug searches to see if anyone was carrying an almanac. The FBI did say that the use of almanacs or maps "may be innocent." But anyone who carries an almanac or a road atlas with them in their car (and don't many of us?) faces the threat of additional investigation merely because of their reading or reference material. (I can't wait to see what happens when the FBI finally realizes that almost anyone can go to a public library and learn about almost anything.)

These, and many other matters, were topics of conversation this weekend as I enjoyed a get-together with a friend I only rarely see. We made up for lost time by discussing matters ranging from the separation of church and state to the most politically incorrect t-shirts we'd seen lately. We talked about the holidays, and we engaged in some mutual "let's solve the problems of the world" brainstorming. But perhaps our primary subject matter involved a man - another political activist - who was recently arrested on a routine traffic stop in Ohio. He is now facing numerous felony charges based on that traffic stop. I don't know many of the details as I write this column, but I do know the man involved, and you can believe one thing with utmost certainty: he's not a criminal. I also know, however, that the fact he and I have exchanged e-mails could mean I'm now being painted with a similar - and similarly unfair - brush.

I've long been exasperated and frustrated by many of the things the government says and does. But I'm now, and for the first time, becoming truly afraid of what the government is becoming. In recent weeks, Supreme Court decisions have curtailed our rights under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. The Department of Justice is continuing to make its own inroads into the Bill of Rights. More and more Americans are being labeled as subversives or worse because they dare to publicly criticize one government policy or another. And me? God help me, I own six almanacs.

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ladyliberty@ladyliberty.com