This past week, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter penned an op-ed for The New York Times, expressing his concern for what he calls a “widespread abuse of human rights.”
From the article:
“At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But instead of making the world safer, America’s violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends.”
It brings a smile to my face when a person of political influence speaks with a bit of understanding and civility.
Jimmy Carter, recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, was the 39th President of the United States, serving from 1977-1981. Although his presidency is viewed by most as a failure, his post-presidential actions in humanitarianism and foreign relations have shown his commitment to the betterment of mankind. As if that weren’t enough, one need only remember that this is the man who made it once-again legal to brew one’s own beer. If that doesn’t get your American flag waving, there may be something wrong with you.
In a time when both Republicans and Democrats alike are not only enabling, but are actively encouraging the erosion of basic human rights under any circumstance, Carter’s is a bold stance for a former President to take. Calling for an end to the drone strikes, and demanding the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Jimmy Carter is a man on a mission.
What I find fascinating about this whole business of torture, assassination, and oppression is just how willingly the American people have gone along with it. This is the country that fought communism in honor of freedom. We fought Nazis in honor of decency. We were a beacon of hope to millions around the world who wished that one day they might be able to live without fear of their own government.
It’s simply astonishing how much can change in a decade.
Police roadblocks, radiation-spraying x-ray machines, invasive searches, the absurd criminalization of photography, and a perverted obsession with “national security” have done very little to do anything other than slightly irritate the American people. This is what happens when your people become so completely apathetic to the whole system that they don’t even bother to speak out against the absurd paranoia of a state that found out in the worst way that security is nothing more than an illusion.
If this were the 1940s and the U.S. Government were trying to pull these stunts, the streets of every major city would be awash with protestors from every walk of life. The American people would have cried bloody murder and called for the immediate resignation of any officials who supported these ideas.
It’s not a partisan thing. It’s a decency thing.
