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5.0 out of 5 stars
Vanishing Liberties., Jan 17 2004
What has made America a great nation in the eyes of the world over the last two hundred years, is not its major technological advances, it competent military or its advances in all the arts, but its original pure ideals on what constitutes a free society, and the inalienable rights of the individual living in that society. The founding fathers of the United States knew all too well the corruptive nature of power. The creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would ensure that those within its government seeking absolute power could be kept in check. In this ideal society, the state has limited power over its citizens, but just enough power to maintain peace within its borders. What is shocking about this short collection of essays by Gore Vidal, is he soberly illustrates with hard fact examples, particularly since the Oklahoma bombing and the events of 9/11, that the Bill of Rights and the important principles it states, protecting the rights of all citizens, is being manipulated to serve a small elite. The people are slowly, over time, losing their rights, because it is said, for their own protection.As a child growing up in the United States, there were three things I was taught, and that was always to respect the rights of others, always say please and thank you, and Governments always lie. "Never believe a politician, son. Because no matter what they say, there is always a hidden agenda." Time and again, this simple statement has turned out to be true. Sometimes their lies are found out. As a people, however, we have a tendency to forgetfulness, a kind of in-built amnesia, to then blindly vote our dubious leaders back into office. Facing the awful truth, in most cases, is much too hard, because it is easier to accept sugarcoated reasons, media-generated propaganda, and not take responsibility and face the fact that at least part of the problem is with us. Vidal points out that there has been nearly two hundred 'incursions' since 1945..."in which the United States has been the aggressor." As he states in the introduction, "It is the law of physics (still on the books when last I looked) that in nature there is no action without reaction. The same appears in human nature - that is, history." (ix) Might the two terrible events of Oklahoma and 9/11 be the result of past military 'incursions' by the U.S. and her allies in other countries? I found this collection of essays to be both incredibly disturbing and enlightening at the same time. In fact, after finishing the book, sleep became difficult. I don't know whether the United States knows it or not, because it is the most powerful nation in the world, and therefore an example to us all, what they do or not do, affects the entire planet. Australia has always looked to America as an example, (whether we care to admit it or not) and I don't like where our big brother is leading us at the moment. The basic premise of Vidal's book is the ultimate damage from terrorism is not a physical one, but the true knockout blow is our vanishing liberties. Those in power submit that we must sacrifice or freedoms because we're at war. I submit, without our God given liberties, our rights as contributing members of society; war is moot, because there's nothing else worth fighting for.
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by Gore Vidal
by Gore Vidal
by Gore Vidal
