Posted by panchmaster from pool0043.cvx24-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net (209.179.210.43) on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 2:54PM :
In Reply to: Legal Critique of Yemen Operation posted by Lilly from ? (160.129.27.22) on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 2:39PM :
Everything the Nazis did in the beginning was legal too. And when that got stale and wasn't getting the job done, they changed the laws....legally of course. The Reichstag fire certainly helped...done by the same sorts terrorists , dontcha know.
That's what's so tempting about the United States Constitution...it actually contains within it the seeds for its own undoing...but only if you get the populace, or enough of it, to "want" you to do it. The Weimar Republic had the same fatal flaw of being an open society. Rats flourish best in such places.
In "A Man For All Seasons", the Robert Bolt play, there is a wonderful exchange between Sir Thomas More and his future son-in law...a sort of a zealous and callow youth who righteously declares he would break every law in England to pursure the Devil.
"Oh", says More..."and if the Devil should turn round on you, the laws all being flat, where would you hide then Roper"? And he adds, bless the man..."I give the Devil benefit of the law to protect myself".
We are either a nation of Laws, or we are nothing. That's why they have to change the laws...so they can say, "it was legal at the time". And that...boys and girls, is why we had a Red Scare, Eisenhower sort of saw it coming, and now a Terrorist Scare. As a nation with a vigorous Consitution and Laws, with adequate health care and good schooling...how would a Bush ever become the most popular president after Lincoln? Popular for what exactly...why for getting these ornery Laws out of our way...to catch the evil Devil of course.
What they will wind up doing is leaving us vulnerable to whoever then takes power over us. But don't worry Doc...there will always be a worse place...to make us feel better.
We'll go from being respected to being better the the worst. What an achievement.
-- panchmaster
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