[lit-ideas] Re: Stasi on our Minds
- From: "Lawrence Helm"<lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 05:21:15 +0000
Okay, you agree with my conjecture about what Ash means. Here is what I wrote:
"But if Ash means what I assume him to mean; then he is weighing (or has
already weighed) in on the side of Olivier Roy, Gilles Kepel, Francis Fukuyama,
et al, who assume that the Islamist Threat is overrated. Perhaps it is
impossible not to take one side of the other in this regard. I have tried to
sit on the fence, but that precarious perch seems unbelievable to most who hear
it. I have read the Roy etc. arguments and believe them to be plausible, but
inasmuch as the Islamist enemy has vowed our destruction I don’t believe this
matter can remain academic. The Islamists have declared war on us and are
engaged in attacks of one kind and another; so it is prudent to protect
ourselves against their efforts – including (with apologies to Ash) protection
against Fifth-Columnist-types in our nations.
"When the spy slips in to do his evil deed, it is best to discover and stop him
– not protect his human rights and civil liberties – it seems to me."
Our nation has taken the prudent course to provide as much protection against
terrorists as possible. We are for prudency's sake assuming the terrorist
threat is real. You on the other hand, while not saying so, assume the
terrorist threat is not real. It is of little significance, not worth your
being delayed at an airport. I understand. You may be right. You share
company with Ash, Olivier Roy, and others. Whether this prudence we are
exercising is necessary, remains to be seen. Some think the old dictum,
"better safe than sorry," still has validity. Others think the chance of their
being harmed by a terrotist so small that any restriction, any delay, any
infringement of any kind is great to be borne. Of course since we have
launched ourselves on a program of prudence, we shall not be putting you Alfred
E Newmans to the test; so complain on -- I guess.
Lawrence
------------Original Message------------
From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, May-29-2007 8:43 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Stasi on our Minds
From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I enjoyed the review and appreciate Ash generally, but in his last
> paragraph he writes, "The Germany in which this film was produced, in the
> early years of the twenty-first century, is one of the most free and
> civilized countries on earth. In this Germany, human rights and civil
> liberties are today more jealously and effectively protected than (it
> pains me to say) in traditional homelands of liberty such as Britain and
> the United States."
> Ash doesn’t elaborate on what he means. Is he referring to the American
> and British restrictions of the "human rights and civil liberties" of
> avowed enemies of these nations, i.e., terrorists? I can’t think what else
> he could mean.
I also read the same article and noticed that concluding paragraph.
Ash isn't talking about the "restriction of terrorists' liberties." He's
writing about ordinary US citizens.
I lived in Germany for seven years. I was often in East Berlin to visit
friends. That meant I went through the Soviet checkpoints and walked around
in East Berlin, which was a communist police state.
And I've had the same experience as Timothy Garton Ash: there was more
personal freedom in the USSR then than in the USA today.
The Soviets barely cared what you had in your bags. Totally bored, they
waved me through. In the USA: when I fly on an airplane, I must go through a
total security check. My photo IDs and baggage are examined. I've had so
many things confiscated at airports.
In East Germany, I always had my Swiss pocket knife. In the USA when I
travel, I can't even carry a tiny penknife. Not even my nail clippers. Not
even a bottle of shampoo or a tube of toothpaste.
In East Germany, we sat and drank beer and complained about the government.
Nobody cared. In the USA, you'd better consider what you say about Mr. Bush
in your emails, on your phone, or cell phone. All of those are monitored.
Your bank records, your credit card transactions, and your web activity are
all monitored. All of it. Everything you do. Yes, Lawrence, we live in a
total surveillance state. The Soviets didn't have that.
I went through many Soviet and East German checkpoints. And believe me,
Lawrence, the US checkpoints are far more restrictive and threatening. One
wrong word and you not only lose your flight (and get a 36-hour detention),
you lose the right to fly anywhere forever.
That's what Ash meant in his article. But you simply don't see that. In your
eagerness to find enemies, your Bush has stripped away our liberty.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
