Haven't the terrorists already won?

That's a question that I ask myself more and more nowadays, and one I almost brushed off the first time I heard it, uttered by my wise friend Fabrizio. Given the fact that there isn't a bigger outcry about what this president did to this country, my only guess is that many others did the same brushing, and they probably haven't realized yet how far back in time this country has gone in the short time span of four years.

9/11 was a horrible day and what happened that day will never be forgotten, nor should it, but at the same time will never be fully avenged. Not even capturing Osama bin Laden alive and killing him on live television for the whole world to see would bring those who died that day in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania back. Nothing could.

What Bush has done to this country ever since, however, is just as horrible and could be undone only by his impeachment and removal from office. The damage he inflicted to America's image and standing on the world stage and to Americans' freedoms and rights cannot be expunged without a radical, shocking action. At this point, Bush is like a cancer for America. Only a good dose of chemotherapy and some surgery could stop it in its tracks.

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal, the Valerie Plame scandal, the corruption scandals, the lying to us to trick us into letting him drag us into an unjust, illegal, immoral war, the cronyism, the lack of responsibility and accountability, the incapability to act like a leader when disaster strikes and the people need you most, the disregard for the poor and the needy to the benefit of the rich and ultra-rich, and now, the hubris shown in ordering to spy on American citizens' phone conversations and emails and refusing to stop doing it.

I read a good article about how much this country has lost since 9/11 in terms of liberties and freedoms by Robert Steinback on the MiamiHerald.com. This is the crucial passage, but the whole article really deserves a read:

President Bush recently confirmed that he has authorized wiretaps against U.S. citizens on at least 30 occasions and said he'll continue doing it. His justification? He, as president -- or is that king? -- has a right to disregard any law, constitutional tenet or congressional mandate to protect the American people.

Is that America's highest goal -- preventing another terrorist attack? Are there no principles of law and liberty more important than this? Who would have remembered Patrick Henry had he written, "What's wrong with giving up a little liberty if it protects me from death?''

Bush's excuse for what he did is that he has to do anything he has to in order to protect us from other terrorist attacks, and that he's keeping us safe. As a result, he has broken the law, federal and constitutional, but won't repent or stop doing it. Not too many people seem, so far at least (I hope,) too concerned or outraged by his actions, but I for one beg to disagree. What he did was illegal and wrong. He should stop doing it immediately, and also pay a price for what he did so far.

I guess, being a foreigner, I feel the whole spying a lot closer to home than the average American, but you should be outraged too. I now know for a fact that all my emails to my friends and my weekly phone calls to my parents in Italy have been overheard, evaluated, probably copied and stored, and classified according to Bush's frame of reference (and that's what I like the least, I mean, the guy is a freak.)

I have nothing to hide, and I'm sure my emails haven't raised any anti-terrorism flags, but I'm just as sure that I've been labeled as dangerous because I don't agree with the administration policies. God forbid any error ever occurred to my legal status in this country, I could be jailed without any rights indefinitely, without being able to see or talk to my family for years... or ever.

Now, you might say, Well, if you've got nothing to hide, then why worry? And you'd be right, if only it were true that this administration never lied or misrepresented the facts, or made a mistake and accused an innocent of a crime he or she didn't commit, or labeled as dangerous and viewed as a threat to national security an organization like PETA, which only cares for the welfare of animals.

Well, to you, my dear friend, who thinks there is nothing wrong with the government spying on my communications if I have nothing to hide, since I'm not American and who knows if I can really be trusted, I would like to ask, Do you still feel like it's ok for the government to spy on people now that it's come out that it's not just foreigners they are targeting, but ANYBODY?

And that includes you too. Maybe you just called an old friend from college who now lives in France, or maybe you just called that hotel in Spain where you plan to spend your next vacation, but you can't be sure that your name hasn't been inserted in a file somewhere on a well hidden computer hard drive and be kept for future reference, just in case, you know... something happens...

This country has always been regarded as the bastion of liberties and democracy. Whenever a dictator raised his head anywhere in the world, he knew that sooner or later, he might have had to deal with the United States of America and all its mighty power, be it military, economic, or political.

Today, no country in the world is proud to side with the US of A, which is seen as a bully, a lawbreaker, a torturer, and a greedy nation that'll do anything to get its way, no matter how many treaties it has to breach, how many promises it has to break, or how many innocents it has to jail, torture, or kill.

Nice work George. How many more years of you bruising our face do we have to endure? Not too many if Americans realize what's happened to them and the Congress lives up to its constitutional duties of oversight of the executive branch and the president's illegal actions.

Let's just hope for a better 2006 for America and what it always stood for.