Excerpt, editing by Carolyn Bennett
Karen Greenberg’s
“America’s Growing Intolerance”
The message that ‘political correctness’ is allowing al-Qaeda-ish wolves in sheep’s clothing to penetrate the [America]’s defenses has been spreading, based in part on claims about unlearned lessons from past incidents of terrorism.
The conviction that ‘political correctness’ has been crippling America’s struggle with violent jihadists inevitably led former attorney general and chief judge of the Southern District of New York Michael Mukasey and others of like position and stature into treacherous waters tending to sweep away ever more civil liberties. This has been true for Washington policymakers since the advent of the George W. Bush administration’s Global War on Terror.
When rights were first denied to captives at Guantanamo Bay, the Bush administration argued that a prison in Cuba should not be considered subject to the constitutional principles that apply to Americans everywhere or to anyone within the territorial boundaries of the U.S.
It was quite another matter, however, as New York Congressman Peter King convened hearings on radicalization and the Muslim religion. This singling out of Muslims or others in our midst as potential terrorists then arguing that when arrested — even if they are U.S. citizens, or captured or tried on U.S. soil — they should be denied the protections of U.S. law.
This urge to chip away at a traditional American commitment to religious toleration reflects a deeper imperative to jettison a wide range of traditional legal protections.
Perhaps we should consider the King hearings and the ever more extreme statements of a growing cadre of well-respected figures as an omen.
At an increasingly rapid pace, the boundaries of acceptable civil discourse are being crossed and rights in America are being tossed away — at least when it comes to national security issues. Even today with a constitutional lawyer as president, fear continues to cow those who have the power to make a difference.
Sources and notes
Karen J. Greenberg is author of the Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First 100 Days (Oxford University Press, 2009); the Torture Papers: the Road to Abu Ghraib (Cambridge University Press, 2005); editor of the Torture Debate in America (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and Al Qaeda Now (Cambridge University Press, 2005). She is co-editor with Joshua L. Dratel of The Enemy Combatant Papers: American Justice, the Courts, and the War on Terror (Cambridge University Press, 2008.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Greenberg is also executive director of the NYU School of Law Center on Law and Security and editor of the NYU Review of Law and Security, http://www.lawandsecurity.org/About/leadership
“America’s Growing Intolerance — How ‘Enemy Creep’ Is Guantanamo-izing America” (Karen J. Greenberg), Copyright 2011 Karen Greenberg, http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175373/tomgram%3A_karen_greenberg%2C_intolerance_%22r%22_us/#more; Tomgram: Karen Greenberg, Intolerance ‘R’ Us,” posted by Karen J. Greenberg at 10:01am, March 29, 2011, http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175373/tomgram%3A_karen_greenberg%2C_intolerance_%22r%22_us/#more
Political Correctness
Politically correct (adjective, 1936): conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated; political correctness (noun), Merriam Webster
Bennett's books available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; The Book Den, Ltd.: BookDenLtd@frontiernet.net [Danville, NY]; Talking Leaves Books-Elmwood: talking.leaves.elmwood@gmail.com [Buffalo, NY]; Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza: http://www.bhny.com/ [Albany, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY]; LONGS’ Cards and Books: http://longscardsandbooks.com/ [Penn Yan, NY]
_________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment