Posted on 06/21/2002 1:41:29 PM PDT by commiefighter
Who blew out the candle? Why has Amnesty International (AI) become so arrogant and politically correct that they see only moral equivalency between the USA and Communist China? Their latest finding, of June 2002, seem to indicate as much. Granted, for some reason, AI is opposed to capital punishment--but capital punishment is overwhelmingly supported by the free citizens of the USA. So how can one compare the wishes of a democratic electorate with the dictates of a totalitarian party that could outlaw capital punishment with the stroke of a pen?
Although AI apparently opposes the detention of 1,200 people following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many of those detained had violated visa provisions or were associated in some way with terrorist organizations. Since we have had no further attacks since 9/11, one might be persuaded that one reason is the presence of many terrorists among the detainees. Nevertheless, a free people will render its verdict on the actions of the US government in the next election. Who can do that in a one-party state?
The other criticisms leveled against the US by AI in the referenced report, such as prison rapes and physical abuse, are examples of breakdowns in local law enforcement, a lack of leadership at the city, county or state level, and just plain incompetence. There is no all-powerful government, or political party unanswerable to an electorate that causes these regrettable events to happen--as there is, for instance, in China, North Korea, or Cuba. Perhaps AI prefers such an all-powerful federal government to make all of these problems disappear; or, better yet, a world government that would make both the problems (and our rights) disappear overnight. History teaches us that the more powerful the government, the more human rights abuses exist. AI wouldnt last a minute under world government. The excuse would be that it wouldnt be needed.
Relight the candle if you must, but take a step back and a deep breath before leveling charges without considering the prime source of human rights abuses--government unanswerable to the citizens.
commiefighter.
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