Are You A Terrorist?

Written by Johnny Israel
johnny@cityroompress.com

First let me say, terrorism by any means, whether by bodily injury or by property damage is not acceptable by America’s society. People that commit terrorist acts for their “cause” are a threat to society, themselves, and the cause they believe in.

On April 19,1995, Timothy McVeigh, along with Terry Nichols, bombed the Alfred P. Murrah, Federal Building in Oklahoma city, killing 168 men, women, and children. It was the worst domestic terrorist act committed by American citizens. A year later, Eric Robert Rudolph bombed the 1996 Olympics.

Rudolph was found guilty in the July 27, 1996, bombing at Atlanta's downtown Olympic Park that killed a woman, wounded 111 others and stunned a world focused on the fanfare of the 25th modern Summer Olympics. Rudolph also plead guilty in a bombing at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., that killed a police officer, and bombings outside a gay nightclub and an office building in Atlanta that contained an abortion clinic. In all, about 150 people were wounded.

The FBI believes McVeigh and Rudolph are part of the past. Since 9-11 the FBI’s focus of home spun domestic terrorism has changed from the 700 known white supremacists cell groups spread across the United States, or anti-government groups, or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which is estimated by the FBI to have committed more than 600 criminal acts of violence in the U.S., to a more common government threat: the average American that believes in the U.S. Constitution.

If you’re an American, under expansive definitions being used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several states in their counterterrorism training, you just might be a domestic terrorist. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in Phoenix, Ariz., distributed a brochure to local law enforcement agencies a few years ago which defines terrorism as individuals or groups within the U.S. who engage in criminal activity to promote political or social changes. This is correct, as far as it goes, but the brochure then gives a listing of “suspicious” activities, telling law enforcement officers: “If you encounter any of the following, call the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

Some of the things for which you should be reported as a suspected terrorist include the usual things, like weapons of mass destruction, and hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis, but also includes people who “Make numerous references to US Constitution,” “Claim driving is a right, not a privilege” and “Attempt to ‘police the police.” In addition, “People who are political defenders’ of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN,” computer hackers, and “Lone Individuals” should also be reported.

Now let me see if I have this right. People who make numerous references to the U.S. Constitution are now considered by the FBI as home spun terrorists. Then according to the government’s logic, Presidential Candidate, Ron Paul is a terrorist. After all, Ron Paul is a strong advocate for Constitutional Rights. Does this list also consider CNN’s Lou Dobbs and Keith Obermann political terrorists?

The truth is, the government has expanded its terrorism list to include anyone that speaks out against the political climate of the day, mainly the Bush Administration. Since 9-11, the Constitution has become nothing more than window dressing on vellum. After the tragedy of 9-11, the Whitehouse fed the public a plate of deceit based on a campaign of fear. The government immediately seized the opportunity to chip away our Constitutional Rights until the very core of its fundamental rights have been weaken to nothing more than an American symbol.

The American flag is an icon of the American Constitution. For the last seven years, the Bush Administration has subjugated civil liberties in exchange for security. Law enforcement officers are to immediately report to the Joint Terrorism Task Force any person as a terrorist that even mentions his or her Constitutional Rights.

I for one am not a terrorist, nor do I condone violence of any kind. I am an American that strongly believes in the intrinsic value of the Constitution. According to the government that makes me a radical anarchist bent on some hellish revolt to overthrow the government. As an American, I am grateful to live in a nation with a Constitution such as ours. Unfortunately, government abuse is in the works to eradicate our Constitutional freedom in exchange for fascist security.