The Destruction of the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the Constitution are known.

They were first introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States. The Bill of Rights limits the powers of the federal government of the United States, protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory.

The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and compelled self-incrimination. The Bill of Rights also prohibits the government from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

It might actually be easier to list the parts of the Bill of Rights that the bush administration hasn't violated in the past eight years. Of those, some are non-relevant because of changing times, like quartering soldiers in private homes. Some are ones bush doesn't want or need to change, with the exception for indictment under military law, or a combination of both.

One might argue that these violations are not absolute and that most free speech is not infringed or that most people are not victim to warrantless searches.
Simply put, that argument is wrong.

The Bill of Rights is not something that can be partially upheld. You cannot pick and chose which should be enforced and which can be violated. They are absolutes. Violate them even just one time and they fall apart. There is a precedent that must be followed. A precedent that has been in place for over 200 years.

Now that the bush administration has violated most of the Bill of Rights, those violations gone unprosecuted may now be used to justify further incursions against the Constitution. Resetting the precedent and foundation of the United States of America.

Under bush, there has been a slow and deliberate "chipping away" of our foundation of rights and liberties previously guaranteed us by our Constitution, making the core values of America weak and ultimately ineffective.

All under the false flag of battling the war on terror.

I understand the events of September 11 changed American life, but the freedoms taken away - the dismantling of our foundational laws - have done more damage to America than the destruction and loss of life on that fateful day seven years ago.

The terrorists hate us for the freedoms that we have enjoyed. Does it make any sense to take these freedoms away in our efforts to combat terrorism?