The Only Thing That Americans Have To Fear is Americans
Carmen Burgess
Introduction: My Palette of Persuasion combines an eclectic mix of genres to depict the life-cycle of domestic spying: Conception to interception. Upon reading one might decide that I have gone overboard when combining visual, auditory, and multiple writing formats to bring the subject to life. However, in my pursuit for everlasting freedom I will take this chance. The underlying theme of the essay explores the canons of America’s Charters of Freedom, and makes the point that freedom is a gift, rather than a right. Will freedom’s bell continue to ring, or will it be silenced? Will the White Man’s brand of Democracy fail? Is the U.S.A. a corporate project; or is it the land that we love?
Quotes, hypertext, and video clips offer the cyber-reader an opportunity to escape from the body of the work, if only for a moment. An example depicting how the U.S. Constitution has been subverted introduces the subject to the audience. The next three genres (fiction, editorial, and peace poetry) are combined into a story based upon current affairs and my personal opinion. This piece exemplifies the reason I must write – to express myself, to entertain, and to encourage others to march toward Peace - though the road may be dark and paved with potholes. Further, quotes from The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and from the Framers of the Bill of Rights represent our brave comrades who have fallen while defending a dream called democracy. It remains to be seen if the dream dies as well.
The story centers on an inflammatory e-mail which is scrutinized by a group of Computer Operators at Fort Meade, Maryland, United Spies of America. The workers represent two types of Americans – those who believe in protecting free speech, and conversely, those who stand by the premise that America stays safe from the bogey-man and/or foreign “terrorists” by spying on its citizens. The content of the first editorial is an e-mail based upon Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to explore impeachment procedures against President G. W. Bush; an act which would have pleased her constituents by exercising her rightful authority as Speaker of the House. The essay closes with a Peace poem, which reiterates that the U.S. Constitution can only be weakened when those it is designed to protect fail to put forth the effort to defend it. As Chief Justice Marshall said in 1821, “The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will.”
The Only Thing Americans
Have to Fear is Americans
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." — G.W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip)
We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
In 2002, days after the national tragedy of “9-11” left the citizens of the nation dazed and downtrodden, Americans were once again attacked on their own soil. It was a covert operation until a clandestine report was leaked to the media. It stated that the U.S. Government employs domestic spying to catch foreign “terrorists”.
Domestic spying includes intercepting, harvesting, and monitoring phone calls, e-mail, and other feed signal data through National Security Agency’s (NSA) crypto analysis computers centrally located at Ft. Meade, Maryland, thirty miles outside of Washington, D.C. The District is the Capital of America, legislated by Congress, and home to the centers of all three branches of the Federal Government – The Executive, the Judicial, and the Legislative. The Federal District was founded on July 16, 1790 for the purpose of keeping the nation’s capital distinct from the states.
Domestic spying breaks laws while compromising two United States Constitutional Amendments. Summed up simply, Americans expect to exercise free speech upon paying their monthly phone bill, and without fear of prosecution for saying something “wrong”. This is an example of an unalienable, and thereby unconditional, right set forth by the First Amendment to every resident of and any visitor to America. Further, the People believe that intimate and personal conversations should be free from eavesdropping. If not, why would any citizen speak freely? Why would anyone pay their phone bill? Why would anyone visit America? The Fourth Amendment guarantees the aforementioned right to privacy. As such, domestic spying in America tears asunder both the First and Fourth Amendments (and it is a death knoll for tourism).
Given that no official investigation has satisfactorily been performed, we may never know the true terrorists of “9-11’’; however, we may never forget the man and the administration that used the occasion as a platform from which to weaken the rights the Founders of Democracy fought a Revolution to secure.
The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.
Alexander Hamilton, 1775
The backbone of the U.S. Constitution is the Bill of Rights, which limits the powers of the Federal government of the U.S.A. and thereby protects the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors residing on United States Territory. The original amendments delineate individual rights, without them certain Framers felt the Constitution was incomplete. Given this, President G.W. Bush will go down in history for many disgraceful choices, but above all he will be remembered as the man who justified spying on his citizens for the purpose of protecting them.
Thereby in the aftermath of “9-11”, while citizens of America were reeling from the shock of a morning strike upon the hallowed shores of the nation, their elected servants sought to weaken the tenets of the U.S. Constitution. Fortunately, the checks and balances of the three branches of the U.S. Government remain somewhat intact. The Bush administration serves to illustrate why the powers of the Executive must be checked against abuses.
When the last dutiful & humble petition from Congress
received no other Answer than declaring us Rebels, and out
of the King’s protection, I from that Moment look’d forward to a Revolution & Independence, as the only means of Salvation; and will risque the last Penny of my Fortune, & the last Drop of my Blood upon the Issue.
George Mason, October 2, 1778
For example, although the FISA Act of 1978 was authorized to thwart domestic spying, in 2002 it became necessary for a group of plaintiffs to file suit against the government in order to claim their right to free speech and to fight for their right to privacy. This was illustrated when the Honorable Anna Diggs Taylor, U.S. District of Michigan Southern Division sided with plaintiffs in Case No. 06-CV-1-204. These victims of domestic spying argued, and subsequently won, a case challenging the legality of a Top Secret program conducted by the NSA,
“at least by 2002 and continuing today, which intercepts without benefit of warrant, or other judicial approval, prior or subsequent, the international telephone or Internet communications of numerous persons and organizations within this country.”
“…This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance…”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
Fort Meade, Maryland, U.S.A.
Chief Master Sergeant Calhoun stepped lively as he entered the Communications Center (Comm Center). He looked sharp in his neatly pressed dress blues. His entrance into the restricted area was announced by the tap-tap-tap of his shiny Bates Oxford shoes as he marched across the freshly buffed lobby floor. He was looking forward to a day of on-the-job-training with Senior Master Sergeant Stacey Hunter. A smile commandeered his face at the thought of her. Once again he was prompted to practice a line he had conjured up while preening in the mirror that morning - “Hey, Stace, let’s do ‘that lunch thing’ today”. He wanted to check out Smokey’s BBQ Pit and Patio where the fried calamari, and pulled pork was highly recommended. “You gotta try the … RIBS!” he mumbled out loud.
Calhoun was in a good mood today, but his happy meter soared to its zenith after entering the fishbowl and seeing the fineness before his eyes. She was sitting on his desk reading a message. Normally he would consider that disrespectful, but, well, it was Stacey, and quite frankly, Scarlet, he didn’t give a dang. She was dressed in civvies today. She was dressed in a light blue gabardine skirt suit and coordinating silk blouse. To him, she looked better than any model. Her eyes were twinkling with enjoyment while a smile slowly bloomed upon her face. Since she was momentary preoccupied, Calhoun made a quick sneak pass up and over his hair with his purple “fro” comb.
Though the Chief normally commanded attention when he entered a room, he was largely ignored this time. As he walked in the Center he noted that the mid-shift crew was scattered around the room in groups of five or more. Some of the team stood laughing hysterically, others were shaking their heads and grinning. Yet another small faction seemed disgruntled as they hunched over each other in wrinkled uniforms. Some of them were reading, and the remainder aimed their weepy red-eyes his way. The latter group caught Calhoun’s eye, challenging him with a look that said “Hey, New Guy … let’s see what you’re made of”.
Calhoun was not easily intimidated, nor was he born the day before yesterday. He was handsome, congenial, and highly educated. In fact he had earned a Masters Degree in Psychology and a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems Technology by attending school at night and working for Uncle Sammy during the day. It took him years, but he did it to prove that he could. His hard work had landed him promotions, lauded him with awards, and lent him opportunities that he might otherwise never have been exposed to. He was a Behavioral Science expert, therefore he understood how folk’s brains worked
- sometimes he didn’t like how they worked, but he knew nonetheless. For the most part he got along with people, which was one of the reasons he was chosen for this assignment. One of his tasks was to stop the intra-office bickering and senseless turf wars within the Comm Center; much like the one he witnessed before him.
He was cool, calm, and diplomatic as he approached the humorless ones. The Head Cheese stepped forward with an outstretched hand. His name tag read “Norman” and Calhoun noted he was a Master Sergeant, or E-7. This must be the mid-shift supervisor Stacey had warned him about. There were so many complaints about the guy that the file he had inherited on him was stuffed to the brim and held together with three weathered industrial size red rubber bands. He made a mental note to get the file organized ASAP. “Oh, Stacey … please help me”, he sing-sang silently to himself.
MSgt Norman extended his ghostly white hand toward Calhoun who in return, squeezed it hard enough to cause his target to wince both physically and audibly, after which he cleared his throat and said, “Welcome to
“Situation?” Calhoun thought. Normally the computers processed most of the work with nominal interference from humans. What could have happened to warrant this greeting, he wondered.
“I’d like to get right to the point,” MSgt Norman said quite loudly. All eyes and ears slowly and reluctantly focused upon him. His eyes blinked rapidly while he nervously explained his position, “We have a difference in opinion, umm, on how to handle an, umm, sensitive matter. That is …umm … an unpatriotic e-mail.”
“Go ahead.” Calhoun murmured patiently, as he positioned himself closer toward his desk, hence, nearer to Stacey who was back to them bent over, with her arms around her waist, seemingly paralyzed and somewhat pained, in the throes of convulsive laughter. The room sounded like the raucous moments following a good joke at a cocktail party.
Norman shoved a message toward his face. Calhoun grabbed the message, and pulled off the unnecessary coversheet, which he handed back to Norman. Then he calmly ordered, “In the future, I would prefer that you attach the coversheet to the back of the message with a paper clip.” He added, “Coversheets are not necessary in secure areas. In my opinion it is a waste of paper.” After which he stared at what appeared to be a captured e-mail, which had been stamped way too many times. It read, “Top Secret”, “Eyes Only”, NOFORN, and the word C-O-N-G-R-E-S-S was written by hand on the top and bottom of the message. Intrigued he began to read what looked like an editorial, and was titled “Kindergartners for Kongress”.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Kindergartners for Kongress: Somewhere in Cyber Land
Now we all know that we shall soon be headed for some FEMA dungeon camp with rotten Halliburton food - if we get lucky - where we can spend our last days of life in the land of the free chained up to our fellow shallow Americans, whom we can die blaming because our collective consciousness would not awake from the fitful slumber of stupidity.
When it dawns on us as the final minutes of freedom tick away, knowing we have absolutely nothing to lose and completely everything to gain, we realize our part in this play is to fight with all our might until they pop us in the big turkey ovens where we will die in shame and embarrassment and pain until the fires purify our bad choices. Dust in the wind, fodder for the history books.
We can have fun going down or we can get stuffed in an official Air Force cremation train station and cry “boohoo” all the way to the barbecue. “Oh why did we not kick and scream when we had the feet and the voice to do so?” we will ask our collective self. “Why did we not rip the throat of the beast instead of singing Hallelujah! in our Sunday best stupor, why didn't we demand that our religious leaders march us up that mountain instead of throwing us into a volcano?” Verily, verily we will know that we were congressionally screwed while waiting for our turn to get burned by the Patriot Act fire, hoping that our Creator understands why we were such dumby-heads.
Oh, a lie is the leader in a game of fools, but the lie can’t live forever if we make a racket with our squeaky wheels. Stomp and scream and stop acting spoiled, before the Po-Po comes to your door to hand you a one way ticket to
Crematoria U.S.A. paid for by the illegal taxes of the Dumb People, soon to be ashes instead of asses. Wake up; wake up sleepy lambs before the train leaves your station.
Nancy Pelosi sucks duck muck. She does. We want her coiffed head on a platter. Shame on you, Nancy, I thought you were a good gal, but you slurp lamb brains for lunch. Where do you get those claws sharpened, you vain lamebrain?
Oh, by the way, wench, you’re fired! And take Congress with you! We believe that kindergartners could run this country better than you old pompous asses of doom. You are only the speaker of the whores serving a sellout Congress and a mega maniac who dares to call himself our President. You'll soon see what happens when sleepy citizens wake up mad - with nothing to lose, and only freedom to gain. I'm going to war, and you can't stop me. Get out of my way, cold lady!
Calhoun murmured, “Interesting. What prompted this rant?” he asked. Stacey composed herself enough to answer, “Nancy took impeachment of the Bush-man ‘off the table’ and many Americans are upset by her decision. They wonder what it takes to get impeached, since laws have clearly been violated by the Executive Branch of our government.”
Norman piped up, “President Bush is only trying to protect us against terrorists.”
Stacey countered, “If indeed that is true, then who allowed the so-called terrorists access to pilot training? By the way, who ordered our F-16’s to stand down? By rights, we should have intercepted those planes within 15 minutes after the word was given to scramble. How did my Pentagon get attacked?” she demanded. “It’s unheard of!” she screeched. All eyes were on her glaring at her nemesis with her hands on her hips. Chet looked slightly frightened, but he wouldn’t give up his need to be right. “You know we gave an oath to protect our country from terrorists, you should not undermine that effort if you want to keep your clearance.”
Stacey shouted, “Who’s the terrorist?”
Norman’s face looked as though his brain had been melted.
Calhoun replied by tearing up the message, after which he ordered everyone on mid-shift to go home to get some shut-eye. He was not going to get an American in trouble for exercising their right to free speech. No, indeed that was not going to happen on his watch. He observed the changing-of-guard ceremony as the night crew shuffled out while the day crew lined up at Coffee Central, staring at the busy coffee pot while the room filled with the comforting rich aroma of Star Bucks® French Roast – his favorite brand of mud.
He turned to Stacey, and asked, “Lunch - today?”
Her eyes sparkled when she replied, “Sure. How about 11:30?”
Calhoun nodded his agreement. Then Stacey smiled as she dangled another message in front of him. Apparently the sniffer had keyed off several words in the message.
Stacey said, “I intercepted it before Norman had a chance to forward the message on.” She continued, “I call it an apology to the world.” It was titled, American Dream Bubble. It read:
I am ashamed, embarrassed,
flabbergasted, and worse!
I can’t believe I have allowed
crazy monkeys to burst my
American Dream Bubble.
I am a vet and
I have met
the true enemy.
I fight a force that
few have eyes to see.
Survived life, and worse,
but I never thought
I would see my country ruined
by traitors of the court.
Back off of my American Dream Bubble!
‘They’ would keep me down instead of up,
but I will not submit
to hooded lies and
senseless budget cuts.
Poke my eyes out!
I will still have my tongue.
Cut my tongue out!
I will still have my thumbs.
Thumbs up to the American Dream Bubble!
tearing up the Constitution,
While his folks are busy
unraveling a solution,
I will hug The Peoples’ trees!
While I protect my American Dream Bubble!
I cry a sea of
plump guilt tears.
I march and shout,
but does anyone hear?
‘They’ can’t take our American Dream Bubble!
I apologize to all the children,
mothers, fathers, and all of the others of
I wish each day
that I could turn time back
to when sanity reigned.
Please forgive me!
I am systematically “dumbed-down”.
Don’t hate me!
I am not the one
that sheds blood on the
American Dream Bubble.
Calhoun seemed impressed when he finished reading the message. He looked up and said, “Americans sure are creative.” Stacey solemnly nodded her agreement and then asked, “What should we do with it?”
Calhoun replied, “We’ll uphold the U.S. Constitution and shred all of the existing copies. Then we’ll get started on Norman’s file.”
Stacey winked and flashed a smile at Calhoun, and like a beam of human sunshine she headed for the Piranha document shredder.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
1) "A Quick Intro to Sniffers: Wireshark/Ethereal, ARPSpoof, Ettercap, ARP poisoning and other niceties." Iron Geek. 4 June 2008 http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/AQuickIntrotoSniffers&mode
2) Babington, Charles. "Democrats Won't Try To Impeach President." Washington Post 12 May 2006: A06. 6 June 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101950.html>.
3) Burgess, Carmen A. Kindergardners for Kongress.
4) Burgess, Carmen A. American Dream Bubble.
5) FEMA Camp Footage (Concentration Camps). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-hvPJPTi4
6) Jefferson, Thomas. "Declaration of Independence." Charters of Freedom. 4 July 1776. U.S. Government. 4 June 2008 <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/>.
7) Kansas. Dust in the Wind. Point of Know Return. Kirshner, 1977.