The assault on human rights by the Bush administration, following the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, was already in the works. There are many extreme conservatives, such as former Attorney General John Ashcroft and now Gonzalez, Vice President Cheney or Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who, because they either fear freedom or have restrictive beliefs, have for years wanted an excuse to curb the growing diversity and recognition of more rights in our nation.

Some of these restrictive beliefs are religious, others are purely political. The largest political power is big business that often wants to curtail rights to create a stable consumerist climate and to cheaply exploit natural resources, so it directs its political power into conservative causes. It will support any cause that will further its interests. Morality isn't an issue. Or the highest moral is profit and power.

I don't trust many do-gooders who think that they know best for us. Do you? Our society is rife with these activists and may not benefit from it because they have caused many restrictive laws to be passed curtailing individual behaviors. What are their motives? Could it be that they are so uncomfortable with some behaviors that they wish to prevent them in others, even if rights are abrogated? Whether those behaviors are beneficial or detrimental to us should be our personal decisions, as long as those behaviors do not interfere with anyone's rights. It's too easy for us to believe that there is genuine concern for our well-being and acquiesce to a constellation of restrictive laws. In consequence, we have become an authoritarian society. We ignore the costs, both personal and economic, at our peril.

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