Civil Rights Abuses in the USA

Unfortunately, the civil rights abuses in the USA continue. One good article I found was Post-9/11, government stingy with information (5/15/2002). Though it's old, from what I've heard and read, not much has changed in two years. The best parts (many of which could be applied to the current Kim Seon Il situation!):

Regarding secret documents:

A growing number of critics, including several federal judges, say the administration's secrecy effort is beginning to look more like opportunism than enhanced security.

The whole prisoner thing is ridiculous, too.

We've never had hundreds of people arrested for long periods of time without knowing who they are, why they're being held, where they are and what the charges are against them. Even during the Japanese internment, there was no effort to keep secret who was being detained.

The American government is no stranger to secrecy, though.

The U.S. government often has embraced secrecy during crises.

Things that make the government open up again:

One is the reduced perception of threat. Things get better. The war ends. The second is proven abuses caused by secrecy. So far, the Bush administration has been effective. We hope we won't need congressional hearings to show how tragically wrong this instinct for secrecy has been.

And the last interesting point, very applicable to the current situation.

Ten years ago, there were no government Web sites providing information to the public; the current complaints are a reaction to a pulling back from a time of unprecedented openness.

Not too long ago, BLOGS did not exist. The internet and blogs have opened up a whole new world to expression and exchange of ideas. The government isn't quite sure how to respond to this new medium as many of the lawmakers (given their generation) have very little experience with the internet.

If the American government can put people in prison without charging them with anything just because those people have dark skin and strange-sounding names, then they could just as easily do it to me! But so far, because it hasn't affected me, I haven't done anything about it. Whoa, I've got to get more involved in the world. That's what's happening to me now!! My right to free speech was taken away, and no one wants to listen or do anything because it doesn't affect them.

I've never felt limited like this before. In university there were rules, but nothing that I felt was unreasonable because I knew the rules before choosing that school. If the rules had suddenly changed in the middle of my education, I would have been very angry. That's essentially what Korea has done--"Yes, we're a free country. Come and teach here . . . Ha! Got ya! We were joking."

From this experience, I already feel like I'm taking away important lessons:

1. If one right is taken away, others can be taken away, too.
2. We must protect the rights of others, because we might be next on the chopping block.
3. We must fight for what we believe in.
and hopefully some day soon,
4. Speaking out produces results.

That's what I've seen so far; possibly more lessons to come.