November, 2006

Editorial: Why our freedom is under attack and what we must do

This woman was one of many people demonstrating against the war in New Orleans on October 5, 2006. The demonstration was a part of a national and international day of demonstrations calling for impeachment of the president, an end to the war and torture, and for restoration of the constitutional rights abrogated in the legislation legalizing torture. PHOTO/TED QUANT

The elimination of the right to Habeas Corpus in the new Military Commissions Act -- signed by the President in October -- completes a series of staggering attacks against the constitutional rights of the American people.

Habeas Corpus, a centerpiece of our liberties, gives a prisoner the right to ask a public court why they are imprisoned. This is a rule of law that goes back to the Magna Carta in 1215. Now, under the new law, anyone who the President designates as an "enemy combatant" can be seized, thrown into a military prison and subject to torture, without recourse. A person can be executed based on testimony that was beaten out of him.

Some Americans think this is the price of "freedom." In fact, it is a prelude to denying freedom to everyone except the rich and powerful few. It is the door to a fascist dictatorship in America where the police, an arm of corporate power, are unrestrained in their ability to beat and murder at will, and where no one will have any rights.

Why is this happening?

Today poverty is overtaking our lives as new technology eliminates jobs and a decent life for millions of Americans. The corporations aim to maximize their profits in a competitive global market. They aim to make into private property everything from DNA, to musical notes, to water, to molecules, to human faces. Everything will be available at a price -- or you can go without.

The tragic attacks on the World Trade Center provided the opportunity for the President and Congress, who are one and the same with the big corporations, to make their move. The military budget was increased by 31 percent to $345 billion. Some $15 billion went to the airlines and another $60 billion to corporate tax cuts, further draining the country's resources to feed the corporations. This is to say nothing of the huge tax cuts for the wealthy. Then came the Patriot Act -- the so-called "anti-terrorism" legislation, which ended constitutional protections in criminal investigations. Now the definition of "terrorism" can be applied to strikers or demonstrators.

The sole purpose of the new legislation is to prevent the inevitable struggle of workers for their basic necessities -- food, clothing, health care, education -- from confronting the source of their poverty: the capitalist system.

Class war in America is being defined. The key to victory is the understanding that these ominous conditions are not simply the result of a bad situation getting worse or of a terrible President, though they are factors. What we witness today is something far more fundamental: a new stage in history brought about by technology replacing human labor. Today, the capitalist system, based on corporate private property, is being destroyed and the capitalists are passing repressive laws in an effort to protect their system. But the new technology also means it is possible to create a new society -- one based on the interests of humanity.

Our first step is to build a powerful movement that makes the government responsible for our well being. The big corporations that produce necessities such as water and utilities and energy must be nationalized, put under government control and run in the interests of the public. This is a huge fight, one that Americans cannot afford to stand apart from.