The Patriot Act, Terrorism, and Orthodoxy; Comments about Comments

Doggone 1000-character limit! It's too frustrating! Therefore, my comments about some of the comments my earlier posting from today have generated are going to serve as the basis for the next blog!

Lola wrote that I was "missing the point"; presumably, about the goals of the Islamic terrorists, and about the suffering of the Greek and Serbian peoples during the centuries that they were oppressed by the rule of the Ottoman Turks: Orthodox people subjugated by those who practice Islam. She doesn't say so explicitly, but my guess is that she wants to defend, on some level, the "Patriot Act" as being necessary for our national defense. I began by saying that I wished she had said more.

As I understand what the Islamic terrorists want -- a target that shifts from time to time, as bin Laden's goal at one point was the complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia; and, while our presence there is greatly reduced from what it once was, there is a permanent American military presence there for the continuing defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -- so I guess ol' Osama is still pursuing that goal among others. Ultimately, they want the end of the United States (the "Great Satan"), the establishment of Islamic rule in the Middle East, and the conversion of the world to Islam.

When the Orthodox people of Serbia and Greece were ruled by the Ottoman Turks, there was a certain degree of religious freedom; but those who did not convert to Islam were, at best, second class citizens; and there were persecutions on the basis of religion from time to time. They are definitely better off for having been able to throw off the Turkish yoke that had enslaved them; and returning to the free and unfettered worship of our Lord in the Orthodox Church. The troubles in Kosovo (among many places -- see my comments about this in earlier postings) show that the efforts of those who follow the teachings of Mohammed continue to plague this part of the world. The number of Orthodox churches and monasteries burned there in just the last few weeks is staggering -- but when did you see or hear anything about this in the media reports in this country? Why was the violence against the non-Islamic peoples in Kosovo not important enough to generate the outrage that was directed against the Serbian government when it attempted to defend its territory against rebels who wanted to secede from Serbia, and make Kosovo -- the cradle of Serbia -- a part of Albania? Would NATO have bombed Washington, D.C., and other east coast cities in an effort to frustrate Abraham Lincoln's attempts to restore the Union following the secession of the southern states in 1861, assuming that it was in NATO's interests to allow the establishment of an independent Confederacy? Because that's what our policy amounted to: through the offices of NATO, we stopped a sovereign nation's attempt to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity against rebels who sought to divide it. Not only that -- but those who benefited from our help now shoot at the soldiers who are there, ostensibly for their protection, in order to advance their cause of independence for Kosovo -- a precursor step for its eventual incorporation as part of a "Greater Albania."

So, I don't think I'm missing the point; and I think I have a pretty good idea of what the Islamic terrorists around the world hope to accomplish; but give me a minute so I can wipe the froth from my mouth...

But if the threat of terrorist attack -- and I do want to underline the word "threat" -- is the reason for supporting the Patriot Act, I cannot agree. When we surrender our freedom in order to be protected, we have lost our identity. Trading our liberty for "security" that cannot, ultimately be guaranteed is not only a loss of our American character; it is the first step away from the American republic to a dictatorship; in which we will be promised security and stability and prosperity, at the price of our freedom. Not only does this spell the end of the American dream; it is also a major step towards the coming of the anti-Christ. When we lose our ability to dissent from the decisions of our government officials, we lose our ability to resist, except by violence, the directions our culture takes. It's happened before, and not so long ago. Mussolini came to power in the midst of chaos, and restored order -- "He made the trains run on time." Hitler came to power at a time of troubles, and restored order. So did Franco. Stalin and Mao industrialized peasant, agrarian peoples -- at a price in human life and misery so incredible that it almost defies conception. Do we want to be like them? The Patriot Act is a small step in that direction...

In all probability, there will not be another Spetember 11th, in terms of such a dramatic tragedy -- hijacked airliners flown into buildings. Our other transportation systems remain extremely vulnerable. Do we really believe that the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security will be able forever to prevent an attack on a rail line, as happened recently in Spain? There are so many bridges, tunnels, dams, and highways that can be adversely affected; and it doesn't need anything more sophisticated that the truck filled with fuel oil and fertilizer that brought down the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. And even if we stop every single attempt of this sort, and there never is a suitcase nuclear bomb, or "dirty bomb" set off in a U.S. city, does anyone believe that we can stop someone like the suicide bombers in the Middle East? True, we haven't yet seen anything like this -- and I hope and pray that we never will -- but I think we're fooling ourselves if we think that surrendering our freedom will mean that such attacks will never happen. To me, the cost is too great for the benefits returned. The motto of the State of New Hampshire, "Live free or die," was once a tenet of those who brought about the American nation as an independent people. Do we want to say, "Better to live on your knees than to die on your feet?"

Inasmuch as I must live somewhere on the face of the earth, I am thankful to have the opportunity to do so in the United States of America. But I fear for the future of this "land of the free and home of the brave" -- already, it seems to be shifting, mutating, from the land in which I grew up. If this life were all that there is to existence, it might seem different to me: but, knowing that antiChrist will come, and being endowed with reason, in which the direction of current events suggests that the time of his arrival is drawing much closer -- as Fr. Seraphim Rose often said, "It's later than you think" -- well, we'd better add to our prayers...

As you can see, this has me a bit worked up. I've found and fixed lots of typos; please forgive me for the ones I've missed...