Freedoms eroded in last 10 years

As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we are saddened by the memory of the thousands of lost lives and the many in this country who were affected by the heinous acts that occurred that day. What makes the anniversary so much sadder, though, is that we have lost so much more of value since then and that we continue to do so with seemingly no end in sight.

The majority of respondents to an Internet poll I took recently replied that they felt they had less freedom now, but at the same time weren’t sure that they were any more secure than they were before the attacks took place.

We have seen how the Patriot Act and subsequent executive directives and regulations have transformed the U.S. in the last 10 years by eroding at least half of the amendments making up the Bill of Rights. We are still engaged in the longest-lasting U.S. war ever.

We are subject to government surveillance on a regular basis, be it through one’s computer or phone lines, on the streets, or in one’s private financial transactions.

In order to fly — assuming our ideas or religious affiliation don’t put us on a no-fly list — even children and those who are physically and mentally handicapped must now go through a humiliating violation of their privacy. And we continue to spend trillions of dollars doing all of these things while thousands here at home live without a roof over their heads or enough to eat.

We have failed to heed the warnings that President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave 50 years ago to avoid land wars of occupation, to focus on maintaining our economy at home and to beware of the military-industrial complex. Given where we are today, it’s as though our government officials’ goals were the exact opposite of Eisenhower’s wise words.

No one is better off. No one except big politicians, big bankers, and big business, that is.

Julie Fox

Chair, Fox Valley Libertarian Party

East Dundee