IF THE CONSTITUTION WERE A PERSON

Sorry, this one is a little disjointed but I‘ve passed pissed and I’m currently headed for totally out of this world ballistic

If the constitution were a person that person would either be on life support or in a psych ward on an indefinite hold.

From Monday’s explosions Friday’s apprehensions. A combination of police work and citizen input led to an arrest and now the Monday morning quarterbacking begins. The brothers were/are Muslim. Apparently the older brother radicalized recently, we don’t know how much influence he had over his younger brother. Anyway here goes. And while we’re on the subject of becoming radicalized. Personhood amendments anyone? For starters anyway.

Some folks want all Muslims kicked out of the country especially the ones who attend a mosque. Never mind that many Muslims are also American citizens whose families have lived here. Never mind that the vast majority are peaceful people who probably want the same things most of the rest of us want. A home, food on the table and healthy happy kids.  What if the next bomber(s) are say Southern Baptists? Want to live in a country where all the Baptists are demonized because of the actions of a microscopic minority.

A New York state senator says “sure I’d torture that punk.” Senator I certainly hope that no one ever believes that you have vital information that we need like yesterday and we don’t much care how we get it.

John McCain and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (among others) want the surviving brother labeled as an enemy combatant. Even though he’s a naturalized American citizen and the crimes took place in here not on a battlefield half way around the world. Senator Graham also seems to believe that we should be able to arrest someone because of what they might do or who they have associated with or might associate with.

Perhaps Mr. Graham would like to talk to some Latin Americans from the seventies and eighties about what it's like to live in a country where the authorities had the power to deal with their fellow citizens based on their ethnic group, religion, who they knew or who the people they knew might have associated with. Especially if those people were considered subversives. And subversive was a very, very elastic term.

Men, women, children, students, church workers, journalists, union organizers, whole villages...anyone who might have had ties to subversives, or to people who might have had ties to subversives. Of course he'd need a séance or a Ouija board to contact them. They’re dead. Many at the hands of troops trained by America, armed with American weapons, using planes and choppers supplied by the US at taxpayer expense.

The only protection we have is our battered, tattered constitution and the constitution is more than  the second amendment so much more.