Michael Butler's Blog

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB0F11F83E5A0C7A8DDDAB0894DF404482

To The Editor:

They said it couldn’t happen here (“Making Martial Law Easier,” Editorial, Feb. 19). And yet it has.

When the Patriot Act was passed, many of us on both sides of the political spectrum saw it as a dangerous and unacceptable trade-off of freedoms and civil liberties for an illusory sense of security. It was not that we wanted to hamper the ability of our government to protect us from potential terrorism. However, we felt that it provided a far-too-broad array of infringements on Constitutionally-protected rights. Indeed, some felt that it was the first step toward a quasi-totalitarian gonverment, one in which further impingements would be instituted, ostensibly for our “safety and security.” In this regard, some of us predicted that the next step would be repeal of the “Posse Comitatus Act,” the legislation that “preserve(s) the line between civil government and the military,” and puts the power to delcare martial law in the hands of Congress, with only limited applications by the president. Yet our predictions were pooh-poohed, even by many on the left. “It’s never gonna happen,” we were told. “Congress and the people would never allow it,” we heard. “Can’t happen here,” many said.

Yet now this bulwark of freedom has been eviscerated, giving President Bush (and any succeeding president) a power associated with dictators and despots – the power to unilaterally declare martial law – and not one person writes in response? (It should also be asked: why are we only hearing about this four months after the fact? Where was the media on this when it actually occurred?) Where was – where is – the outrage?

Although the fear of a “proto-totalitarian” government conjures up laughable images of “black helicopter”-sighting paranoids, no one should be laughing anymore. Indeed, combined with the infringements of the Patriot Act and more recent presidential “signing memos,” the term “proto-totalitarian” can no longer be reserved for a bunch of government-fearing crazies.

There has rarely been a more critical moment in American history vis-a-vis the freedoms and civil liberties that our Constitution guarantees us, and the potential infringement upon – and even elimination of – some of them. If not undone, the defense budget bill provision would allow a president to use dictatorial power to impose martial law, virtually at whim. In this regard, no matter what side of the political spectrum one may be on, and even if one has never contacted an elected official before, it is incumbent upon every U.S. citizen to contact his or her Senators and Congresspersons and demand – in the strongest terms possible – that they pass the Leahy-Bond bill which would undo this unbelievable outrage.

Rev. Ian Alterman
New York City