It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
Mother Davis waits for the Statue of Security to be built as she reflects on the state of American fear.

A lot of Americans do not realize that the Bush Administration has overseen the closure of the Statue of Liberty for over two years.

Now we're told that the Statue of Liberty will only be re-opened after extensive renovations that will increase security at the national treasure. Among other things, Americans won't be allowed inside the statue in the way that they were before. You never know, say the custodians of the statue, a terrorist attack to destroy the Statue of Liberty could take place at any time, so it's just not safe to allow Americans to have access any more.

It's kind of symbolic, I think, that the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of American freedom, has been shut down for almost the entire time George W. Bush has been in office. This act reflects Bush's priorities: Americans only get to enjoy freedoms when they don't interfere with a paranoid obsession with security.

You know, my car could be broken into and used in a crime at any time. It happens! In fact, cars are broken into, stolen, and used to commit criminal acts far more often than prominent American landmarks are destroyed in terrorist attacks. Does that mean that, for the sake of security, my freedom to drive my own car should be taken away? That's the kind of logic Bush and his friends are using to attack Americans' freedoms, and I just don't buy it.

Are Americans really such cowards that they are afraid to climb the Statue of Liberty out of fear that they'll die in a terrorist attack? Aren't we brave enough to carry on with our lives as normal? George W. Bush is encouraging fear and forbidding us to live in the bravery of freedom. That's hardly strong leadership.

Yes, it bothers me that under the leadership of George W. Bush, liberty has been officially recognized as unsafe. It bothers me enought to boot Bush in 2004.

Wondering if they'll arrest her for Crimes Against Homeland Security if she tries to visit the Statue of Liberty,
Mother Davis

Posted by Katherine Davis at 7:32 PM. # (permalink)  




Return to the Irregular Times Main Page

Read our Blog Archives