Quote:
Originally posted by PornoDoggy@Apr 28 2003, 11:10 AM
What seems to get lost when we wax poetically about the beauty of the system we live under is that the folks agitating for a point that may not be popular today are equally vital to that same system. The example that gets frequently used - "Well, there's no need to worry about the Patriot Act because if there are abuses we will change them - we've done it before" - is correct on its face. However, it ignores the fact that it was changed because "lunatics", "pinkos", "alarmists", etc. screamed and yelled and whooped and hollered for years before anyone even believed that abuses were occurring.
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I think it's quite sane to question the Patriot Act and whether it is a good law or not. It's quite another to think that the end of our society is here, that the Constitution is now a worthless document, that the Republicans are secretly taking over, that America is now on an unstoppable road to ruin, that the system of government we are living under is thus null and void and that we're heading towards an Orwellian finish and and are just a little behind schedule on 1984.
I agree with your premise. "The system" does require alarmists in order to be most effectively resilient. Now, the thing about the alarmists is that they are almost always wrong. The reality hardly ever turns out to be as bad as the predictions. The worst case is just that. It's not likely nor does it hardly ever occur.
I'd rather be right than wrong but necessary. But hey, thats just me.