The Winner Is…
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Alana. No, I didn’t write in her name. She wins the pot, because only she guessed whom I voted for.
Disclaimer: This publication should not be construed as an official support for any particular candidate by the United States Navy. It is a memoir of how I voted as a private citizen.
I voted for Michael Peroutka, the Constitution Party candidate. I believe that the most foundational problem afflicting our Republic is a constitutional crisis. When I was looking at my icons, I kept thinking of these words: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic…,” the oath I swore when I joined the ranks of U. S. Navy Sailors.
The Constitution has been slowly worn away since the War Between the States, so that there is barely anything left from the erosion. The answer is a return to constitutionally limited, republican government. Repeal the amendments that undercut the republican form of government (17th, Popular Election of Senators), support the unrestricted growth of the Federal government (16th, Income Tax).
At this point, I really despair that the freedom guaranteed by the Constitution can last, because the Constitution is being stripped of the very genius that made it so great. The Patriot Act — which, to anyone who loves freedom and the Constitution of our country, is anything but patriotic — and “Homeland Security” will test whether freedom will continue to ring from sea to shining sea. They trample the constitutionally protected rights of every citizen and guest of this great nation; dear reader, you will not be safe because you are white and don’t wear the hijab. “First they came for the Jews….”
To be honest, I hope Bush wins, and I don’t know if I would have voted my heart if Kentucky had not been so clearly a red state. But, as I have said before, I voted for Bush last time because I was frightened into voting with the odds. This time — when the Department of Homeland Security gets more power, and the people and the states get less, contravening the forgotten 10th Amendment, when the Patriot Act is strengthened by more legislation meant to “protect our way of life from the terrorists,” though it is freedom itself that is our way of life, when I remember why I did not vote for Bush — this time my conscience will be absolutely clear.
This time I will not be ashamed. This time I will not have to say, “This is the man I said I wanted, but I lied.” This time, I spoke the truth.
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6 Responses to “The Winner Is…”
Copyright © 2002–2011 Kevin Robert (Basil) Fritts, all rights reserved.
November 3rd, 2004 at 10:43 am
I don’t agree with you on everything you said, but at least you didn’t vote for Bush.
November 3rd, 2004 at 11:44 am
How much did I win and where do I claim it? 😉
November 3rd, 2004 at 12:17 pm
I hope your vote brought you some comfort. Had a guessed, I would have said you were going to vote for either Bush or the Constitution party guy. (Yeah… easy for me to say now.) Your vote combined with your statement that you hope Bush wins makes me think I was right. You wanted to vote for both.
I’ve heard many people lamenting the Patriot Act and saying that it takes our freedoms away, but I’ve seen little evidence for that being the case. Can you be specific instead assuming that this lover of freedom just agrees with you?
The Patriot Act was created to give law enforcement the same capabilities against terrorists that they’ve long had available to them in fighting organized crime (mafia and drug smugglers). The Patriot Act still requires warrants, which means law enforcement has to convince a judge that their request is relevant. I read articles such as Keep the Patriot Act. We Need It. and wonder where the opposition is coming from.
November 3rd, 2004 at 1:25 pm
Tim, the information provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation notes the highlights. In addition to broadening the government’s ability to violate the constitutional guarantee of privacy and protection from tyranny by requiring a warrant before search and seizure, the USA PATRIOT act also continues to limit the ability of the people to hold the government accountable for its unconstitutional activities by increasing the ability to cloak those activities under the label of “national security.”
“Those who would trade essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither.” —Benjamin Franklin
November 3rd, 2004 at 3:35 pm
I agree. I’m not overjoyed that Bush has won, but am hopeful that he will at least do some good things on social levels, dealing with abortion and stem-cell research. However, he’ll be back to screwing up the environment, so there’s not much can be done about that. I wish that he could somehow be put in a bottle, so that he doesn’t have to deal with other countries or foreign relations at all. That would be truly beneficial to us all (the world over). I also agree on the Franklin quote and am alarmed at how quick people are to jump on a bandwagon when convinced that their security is imminently threatened. The language that has been used by Bush to talk about this war on terror has been terrifying in its own right, and reminiscent of various other speeches I’ve studied across the course of the 20th century. The Patriot Act is an extension of that type of rhetoric and worldview. Every war is total war now, and total war means maximization of our ability to fight it, regardless of what that entails.
November 4th, 2004 at 10:47 am
I, too, voted for the Constitution Party, knowing Peroutka didn’t have a chance, but hoping to send a message. What is really frightening is the response from Christians when they know you hold any other view than “Bush is God’s man in the White House.” Thinking seems to be a lost art …