I understand your opinion, and until 9/11 I would have agreed with you 100%. But we are living in an age where a handful of evil foreigners exploited the freedoms we take for granted to commit a horrific, murderous act of war against us in the name of their hateful "religion". And there are Americans who hate their country and their elected leaders so much that they give aid and comfort to these terrible enemies. We see them enable the Islamonazis every time they burn an American flag, equate the duly elected president with Adolf Hitler, and wave pictures of Communist mass murderers in their ridiculous marches. If America was not facing an existential threat from the outside, I would simply laugh and roll my eyes at these idiots. But in today's world of instant worldwide communications and the 24-hour news cycle, our enemies see our "protestors" working tirelessly to help their cause. That, in a word, is treason when American troops are giving the fullest measure of devotion to their country on the battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
The fact is that liberty means idiots have the right to say outrageous things, wrong things, hateful things, and not have to worry about suffering political reprisal for it. It is, in fact, that freedom that allows you to (among other things) post one of the most blatant stupidities I have seen in a while in this forum and not have the Stasi come knocking at your door.
Look, I don't come to this opinion lightly. I am a libertarian in almost every way -- I want government out of my life, and I want to make my own decisions without some anonymous bureaucrat in Washington, Harrisburg, or elsewhere telling me what or what not to do. But I recognize that the governments 'prime directive' if you will is to provide for the common defense against all enemies - both foreign and domestic. I despise the fact that government takes my money through taxes and 'redistributes' it to moochers and looters who are parasites on society. I resent government telling me where and what I can smoke, ordering me to wear a seatbelt when I drive, 'regulating' how many gallons my toilet can flush, etc. But I want government to do what the Founding Fathers of this nation intended it to do: provide me and my fellow citizens with a nation not under danger of annihilation from evil enemies who despise freedom.
Our fathers knew that the greatest danger was NOT the Jacobean anarchists (the eighteenth century version of communists and leftists), but government itself.
And thankfully, the communists and leftists never gained they power they needed to destroy the system the fathers devised. But they have (perhaps unwittingly, perhaps not) allied themselves with the Islamonazi killers. They have become the "useful idiots" that would be the first to lose their heads if the Islamonazis ever emerge victorious.
I despair of the "conservatives" on FR who are nothing but fascists who think they can avoid being spotted as such simply by wrapping themselves in a flag.
I resent the term "fascist" in this context. In every major conflict we ever were involved with (prior to Vietnam), the government had restricted war resisters to some degree. Although some on the paleocon fringe may consider Lincoln to be a fascist, he did what was necessary to preserve the union and the freedoms we take for granted. Seditionists were arrested and imprisoned during WW1. Japanese nationals were interned during WW2. Strict censorship of wartime reporting by the media was imposed. And through it all, we came through unscathed -- freedoms intact. Notably, it's been the "liberals", "progressives", etc. or whatever the latest incarnation that the socialists give themselves that have done the most to deprive us of liberty, and yet, they're the ones today screaming the loudest to surrender the battle to the enemy. They have, IMHO, crossed the line from "free speech" to treason. They need to be stopped, before they successfully enable the enemy to commit an atrocity that will dwarf 9/11.
Fighting the enemy with all available tools is not fascism. Wanting to stop fifth columnists from giving aid and comfort to the enemy is not 'wrapping oneself in the flag'. It's common sense. It's wanting to LIVE AS A FREE AMERICAN.
I am for swift, aggressive, and overwhelming response to any peoples or state who do us harm or seek to do so. I do see a large group of conservatives willing to cede freedom to the state for "emergency" purposes, on the idea that we can stroll back over and expect the state to surrender it back to us when the "emergency" is over. The fact that it has been done before is NOT, imo, a legit argument. I would also submit that "saving the union" (aka preserving the government) was not a legit reason to go to war (although slavery WAS a legit reason). I see nothing sacrosanct about preserving this or any state, if the freedoms guaranteed by the state do not exist. However, that is a horse to beat at a different time.
The scattergun accusation of "fascist" does not belong to you, and I am sorry for the pellets sprayed your way. However, suspending personal freedoms so that we can deal with a bunch of unwashed 60s rejects and their murdering raghead empathizers DOES enable the fascists on the left and the right. Far easier to do a state department search for expired visas, and institute some kind of "anti-jihad" pledge to those here on legit visas. Then, if they are involved in flakey activity, we just tell them they violated the terms of their visa and deport them. Suspending habeas corpus for legit citizens is like using an impact wrench to adjust the thermostat. Way too much firepower for the job.
I get nervous when the state says it needs to keep an eye on them, er, us, uh, well, you know what I mean. I just don't trust em, whether they invite gay rights advocates or bible believing preachers into the White House. Danger is ultimately the same.