Reflections on Safety vs. Freedom

I have long maintained that democracy died in America on January 20, 2001- the day George W. Bush assumed the office of President of the United States of America, even though the people had voted in Al Gore as President.  9/11 gave Bush the excuse he needed to begin destroying the Constitution.  Aided by the traitorous media outlet known as Fox News, a propaganda spin capitalizing on the fears of an undereducated and self absorbed population the Patriot Act was passed as a knee jerk reaction to keep you and me "safe."  Since then the erosion of the power of individual human beings in our "free" society has continued to be hacked away by Orwellian type crises after crisis.  Yet how much danger were we really ever in and how necessary are all these precautions?
I don't mean to minimize the tragedy of 9/11.  Somewhere around 3,000 innocent Americans died that day (that we know of) and to my knowledge, it is the worst terrorist attack in history.  However, I would like to put 3,000 lives in perspective here:  those lives constituted less than 1/2 or 1% of New York City's entire population.  As for the entire population of the U.S., that amount wouldn't even be enough to register as a negligible amount.  Most terrorist attacks take out, at most, a few dozen people.  Our chances of getting killed in a car crash are astronomically greater.
Now according to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics in 2010 over 600 million passengers flew on airplanes.  While this is a raw number of bodies in seats on any given flight (and realize that some people are on more than one flight and travel more than once per year) if we divide that number by 365 days, we get  1,724,705 people flying per day.  A pure raw guess on my part would be that roughly 1/3 of those people would be double counted, so with my adjustment I would say that the actual number would be closer to 1,149,803 individuals flying on any given day in the U.S. who are subjected to the abuse of power that our government is perpetrating on us in the name of "safety." 
Michigan has passed a law saying that a person's smart phone can be seized during a routine traffic stop so that all of their locations during the past year can be reviewed and that information used against them in a court of law.  And today I read that the sheriff in Crown Point Indiana has said that if they need to conduct random house searches without a warrant, they will.
At what point to do we recognize that we are throwing away our precious freedom for a miniscule threat?  This is akin to trying to earn one's income by playing the lottery every week.  Or tearing down the house in order to kill a spider.
Things get even more macabre when we look at the private security corporations that have all but replaced our military.  Private mercenary armies stockpiled with enough munitions to kill every man woman and child in the state of New York and who have no allegiance to our country.  We've paid these companies the equivalent of the GDP of some small countries which gives them more power.  When they go into a place and wage their own terrorist attacks, they take out tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people.  Should they decide to turn on us then what?  As our government facilitates these people, they grow more powerful.  They become a military arm for the corporations.  Should they want to stage a coup, they could do it and we wouldn't even know.  Maybe they already have.

Reflections on Voting

For me voting is an honor.  I think about all my female ancestors who never were allowed to vote and I feel humbled that I have been entrusted with that right.  I think about all the women in third world countries whose voices are suppressed everyday because they are not afforded the opportunity to vote.  I think about my sons and the example I want to set for them, the example I want them to look for in a partner. 
And lastly, I think about myself.  My beliefs, my values, my intellect all are voiced and enacted by filling out a single form once a year.  It is the one time in my life when I can shout out with the loudest voice that I matter, that I inspire and I can do it without saying a word.
I vote in every election because I can.  Next Tuesday millions of Americans will be showing their respect and honor for our country and the millions of men and women who have died to give us all this honor.  Millions of Americans already have already taken their place in history by voicing their opinion of the way they want their government to run. 
To be sure, this election is not an easy one.  Because of the ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year in the Citizens United decision, our entire system of democracy is threatened by PAC ad that have very little to do with informing us about what's best for us, but rather, fooling us into voting for what's best for them.  That means that every one of us have a duty to inform ourselves about the candidates and the issues.  Nothing and no one on the ballot is too small to be ignored this year.
I realize that what I'm asking is not easy or pleasant for most people.  We work hard all day long and at the end of the day, we really don't want to have to do RESEARCH on  what's really true and who's really best.  What I suggest is that you get some of your friends together that live near you and divide the candidates and initiatives up and each research a few.  Then get together to discuss and make your decision.  If you don't have any friends, call the local headquarters of all political parties and ask for their recommendations.  Be sure to ask WHY they recommend a certain person or initiative.  They will gladly give you reasons why.
If enough of us do this and commit to doing it year after year, then we the people can render the Citizens United case irrelevant.  If we can unseat a very strong incumbent who has spent millions on his/her campaign (personally I hope it will be Darrell Issa) then we can send a message that will ring out all over the country that our votes cannot be bought.  That our elected representatives need to do more to start representing us and not their parties or their donors.  We can preserve the America that so many have fought and died for.  An America that we can be proud to leave for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.