Evolution of Writing Part 2

Christina Back                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Blankenship

AP Language

30 May 2012

                                                            Editorial: Land of the Oppressed

            Most people believe that the American experience is about freedom or opportunity; that is indisputable. However, overtly optimistic and sensational ideas disguise the existence of an ever-present threat constantly pressed upon the American people since the establishment of the country. Although America preaches the ideals of freedom, it is a closet case that refuses the alternative label; oppression.  

           Every year, a new version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or the NDAA, is renewed. However, in the fiscal year of 2012, a seemingly minor change was added, inconspicuously seizing the rights of Americans. The bill states that "any person who has committed a belligerent act" can be detained without warrant. It also indicates if the government finds anyone unsavory for any reason, the government may seize and imprison a specific individual indefinitely without trial for merely opposing the government. Essentially, any person living in the United States can be arrested without due process of law or that "guilty until proven innocent" ideas under the NDAA. Doesn't this violate our Constitutional rights? Huh? What Constitution?

The NDAA is basically an addition to its counterpart from 2002, the Patriot Act, which allows the government to search and spy on U.S. citizens without warrant. These two acts together permits the government can spy and arrest whomever it pleases without restrictions, justifying its actions with the weak excuse of “preserving national security.” This is genuine government oppression, and not a single thing is being done to prevent it.

Laws like these have been evident in the past, but more specifically, during World War I. Two acts strikingly similar to the Patriot Act and the NDAA were the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act. When the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed, it punished those whom obstructed military affairs. The Sedition Act, implemented shortly a year later, forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government or its military that “caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt.” 

These acts implemented during World War I are analogous to the acts in place today, confiscating the rights of American citizens for the sake of maintaining public security. A poll from Ipsos/McClatchy in 2010 reported that 51% of Americans believed that: “it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism.” But to what extent?

Sometimes there are situations in which sacrifices must be made, because sometimes, the benefits outweighs the costs, but for what purpose? To keep the terrorists out? This hypocrisy involving the invasion of other peoples’ land to “fix” their own country by means of violence and warfare are acts of terrorism. America instead uses underhanded tactics to personify itself as the “hero” and to demonize the “enemy,” claiming to the “liberator from tyranny.”

            The US supported Taliban in 1995-2001 to fight against Northern Alliance Mujahideen until the day of 9/11. Their Strategy was to kill as many Afghans as possible by their own puppet, kill all the minorities like Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras in a proxy war, in which arms and weapons were dealt under the radar. Then in 2001 they invaded and said" here we are to save you from our puppet whom we supported a week ago." Surely they know how to play dirty.  In 2008, sixty-one percent of Iraqis even said that American troops are making matters worse (ABC News). However much the opposition, America continues to press on, posing as an oppressive nation, with no intention of representing the so-called freedom it claims to uphold.

            America is starting to resemble a totalitarian state, much like Germany during World War II. The German people became controlled by a police state they never saw coming, seizing all those who opposed the Nazi Party into concentration camps. Likewise, Americans also had segregated people into areas in which "any or all persons may be excluded," specifically the Japanese in 1942. Innocent people were subjected to worse than prison-like conditions just for being "potential subjects". Under the pretense of retaining “domestic tranquility,” America has continuously been oppressing the people.

SOPA, the Stop Anti-Piracy Act, implemented by the United States government late 2011, was an attempt at “speech oppression,” or censorship. However, SOPA was shelved due to immense opposition, with many big businesses such as Google, Twitter, Paypal, Wikipedia, and allied with the people. Although this battle may have been won, SOPA was reincarnated, with a recently proposed bill called CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. CISPA shares many similarities with SOPA, but with added benefits for corporations and businesses. The American people are plunged into yet again another fight for the freedom of speech, except this time, without the support of large companies.

This oppressive nature is ingrained into America’s being, a destructive force continuously treading on the rights of its own people and inconspicuously abducting them, ceaseless in its pursuit to control everything within its reach.  Its roots are convolutedly arranged, its multiplying weeds unyielding in its growth to other forms of life, choking life from the vast fields of foliage that stretch out of sight, endless in its continual consumption.

This paper is “excellent” because it effectively proves a point with an assertive and controlled tone, provides strong evidence, and overall, argues the thesis and develops into something that reader find more meaningful.

My writing at the start of the year had weak arguments, often no connections to the thesis, and contained nothing “though-provoking.” Now I am able to take a simple topic and develop it into an interesting or even compelling complex argument.

Works Cited

Higginbotham, Stacey. “ACTA 2.0 is like a Backdoor Way to Enact SOPA.” Editorial. www.gigaom.com. WordPress, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://gigaom.com/‌2012/‌01/‌30/‌acta-2-0-is-like-a-backdoor-way-to-enact-sopa/>.

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Pageant. Boston: Suzanne Jeans, 2006. Print.

Khera, Farhana. “Reform the un-American Patriot Act.” Editorial. CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/‌2011/‌10/‌26/‌opinion/‌khera-patriot-act/‌index.html>.

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012. 112 USC. Sec. 1867. 2012. PDF file.

Thomma, Steven. “Most Americans would Trim Liberties to be Safer.” McClatchy. McClatchy, 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.mcclatchydc.com/‌2010/‌01/‌12/‌82156/‌poll-most-americans-would-trim.html>.