Vote for Freedom

Early last week, Tom Ridge announced an increase in the terror alert. This announcement was suspiciously made close to the announcement of John Edwards as Sen. Kerry's vice-presidential candidate. The announcement was along the typical lines of "somewhere, sometime". The memos that came out in the months prior to Sept. 11, 2001, were models of specificity and clarity by comparison.

Now, someone doesn't have to be a political analyst to figure out the Democratic and Republican conventions would be mighty tempting targets. Heck, a terrorist could hit Podunk, USA, during the convention to much the same effect — if not greater. Another tempting time would be around the time of the elections — and the erstwhile Minister of Homeland Defense is investigating whether the national elections can be delayed in response to an attack (or, one presumes, a threat).

I hope I'm not the only one in America who is nervous about the prospect of the elections being delayed. If the party in power can reschedule the election, they will certainly do so to their benefit — there is no assurance they will reschedule with only a terrorist threat in mind.

Michael Moore's brilliant bit of agit prop (Fahrenheit 9/11) posits the notion that the Repugnicans want to keep us in a constant state of fear and anxiety. The supposed advantage is that fearful people are likely to maintain the status quo. It's a hypothesis I'm unwilling to reject out of hand, though I am wary of most conspiracy theories.

But, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? One of the Buddha's "Fundamental Truths" was that "Life is suffering"; a modern corollary might be "Life is dangerous". The attack on the World Trade Center in the mid-90s certainly proved vulnerability to foreign attack. The OKC bombing in 1995 proved we are as vulnerable to domestic terrorists. School shootings, among other acts of random violence, also confirm how risky life in our modern world is.

Bottom line: we can reduce risks, but we cannot guarantee safety. A dedicated small group of "true believers" are likely to create damage regardless of securing the borders or checking people's library records. A "lone gunman", such as John Hinkley or Chapman, are even more likely of success.

Senator Kerry can no more guarantee your safety any more than the incumbant. But, he can work to preserve your freedom. If you are willing to trade your freedom for security, fine. But, you ain't gonna be 100% secure even if you trade in the last freedom available. Myself, I'm going to fight to preserve every freedom available.

For me, the first step will be voting for Senator Kerry as president.