A time to re-examine ourselves

Our once-free union must be freed from the horrific rules and regulations of Washington bureaucrats. -- American Conservative Union

KENNETT, Mo. -- The day following the above statement by a spokesman for the American Conservative Union, America's world seemed to go crashing down before our very eyes. Some declared the nation was at war, while others predicted America would soon enough return to the normalcy we now regard with utmost favor and respect.

The horrific government described by the ACU spokesman that was charged with withholding basic freedoms from citizens before the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings has in recent days been viewed as having too few powers, if Bush administration officials have their say. Our fellow Missourian over at the Justice Department, John Ashcroft, has asked for, and will probably receive, expanded authority to intrude on personal privacy and cancel some time-honored habeas corpus rights -- and most of us are willing to grant honorable men carrying out important responsibilities those rights, but only for the moment.

The irony is that critics like ACU, before Sept. 11, were warning us against the sins of what they described as an uncaring federal government, one capable of rescinding the Bill of Rights for the sake of a liberal agenda. It's been difficult to trace any concerted effort to suspend basic constitutional rights in recent years, although this lack of evidence has never seemed to deter Washington critics from either the right or left. Perhaps the ideologues are able to remember when it was the custom of Washington to declare certain liberties out of play, if only temporary. John Adams espoused it during dark days in his presidential term, and Abraham Lincoln was forced to restrict certain rights and freedoms during the Civil War. Nor should we forget Franklin Roosevelt's failed attempt to move the Supreme Court out of the 19th century by increasing its membership.

Otherwise, we Americans have fared exceptionally well, even miraculously, from the ravages of those who want to deny citizens basic rights and freedoms, a fact it would be well for us to recall when times return to normal in the United States, as they most assuredly will.

We gave up on our own

The irony does not stop there, however. While some have made lifelong careers of protesting the evil designs of federal officials in Washington, the vast majority of us have surrendered other rights and privileges on our own. Such discarded rights as public interest in government, citizen participation in voting, and the right to speak out on important, critical issues have become neglected for lack of use over more years than we care to enumerate.

These neglected and discarded rights are shameful reminders of the lack of citizen participation in public affairs so prevalent that we cannot persuade more than a bare majority of our fellow Americans to cast ballots once every four years. Indeed, we cannot persuade reluctant citizens to attend meetings on important local, regional and state problems. A recent public meeting on needed highway programs for Missouri attracted the interest and attendance of nine citizens in one state city.

Increasingly, this lack of public interest in government answers the prayers of those who oppose our way of life and want to destroy our once-steady national resolve. Now we only see evidence of such resolve when a monumental crisis occurs, created by terrorists trying to blow us to smithereens.

Yes, it's true: We're all Americans now, even nationals in friendly countries around the world. We have recently created a solid union of freedom-loving citizens who support Washington's actions, seemingly with any means, with programs that we feel are essential to give us retribution. This human reaction is more than emotional resolve; we strike out at destructive enemies whether we are liberals or conservatives, moderates or radicals, thoughtful or thoughtless citizens.

When this emergency is over, and we suspect it will be sooner rather than later, what happens next? There are indications we will experience longer delays at the nation's airports as security is tightened and some of the indifference about who is allowed on public carriers is removed. We may even amend some of the all-too-loose immigration rules that have been allowed to prevail, again due principally to public indifference toward public matters. America could even expand its role as defender of basic freedoms in totalitarian nations, although this resolve is unlikely to remain with us for more than a few brief years.

Mindless normalcy

When bin Laden has been laid to rest, when radical religious groups no longer threaten our personal safety and when Americans cease becoming the targets of crazed terrorists, our lives will begin to resume the normalcy so many mourned after Sept. 11. Unless we're careful, the normalcy will restore the same mindless anti-government rhetoric that has increased in recent years like a cacophony of clanging cymbals.

Harangues against the federal government and those who only temporarily occupy Washington's seats of power can be as destructive to the nation as all the bombs that have been dropped on human kind since the beginning of time. Public indifference to affairs of state can be even more damaging to our constitutional form of government than all the bin Ladens in history.

When we echo the false fears of radicals among us and close our eyes to the responsibilities of mature citizens, we are inflicting greater damage to our society than all the terrorist bombs ever built. Our strength is in the unshakable belief of ordinary citizens in America's destiny to preserve human freedom for all, not a favored few.

It is time for us to re-examine ourselves, America.

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.