I am a citizen of the United States of America.

The President of my country, on his sole authority, can detain me indefinitely in a military facility, incommunicado, and without charging me with any crime. The military is quietly but busily creating a new organization reminiscent of the many-tentacled internal security ministries of othernations, that Americans used to shake their heads at in pity and consternation. I can be spied on without court oversight or legal reason, again at the whim of whoever occupies an increasingly imperial Presidency, and am told that any attempt to question these policies is seen as disloyal, feckless, or both.

Does this really sound like an America we want to live in?

I am constantly told that these actions are necessary to protect me, and that laws which solidify this nascent police-state mentality must be passed immediately, and without debate. When voices are raised that express concern and alarm over a growing erosion of civil liberties, they are dismissed by those in power as frivolous and unwarranted, yet what government has ever voluntarily relinquished any significant tools of control and power over its citizenry?

I prefer to be better-protected against tyranny than against terrorists, be they foreign or domestic. No government bent on security at the expense of law and liberty will truly have the best interests of its citizens at heart for long. Without fail, those citizens will become subjects, and eventually even the pretense of liberty is lost.

Don’t just bitch about it, though. Contact your senator or representative today and let them know that the expansion of police powers must be checked. Your freedom is in your own hands. For now.