[Newspoetry] We’ve Got Our Flag: Who The Hell Needs The Constitution?

[Mike Lehman]

Civil liberties are taking a back seat
One White House official put it, "it's a new reality."
What the heck is going on?
Hands tied by the traditions of normal legal procedure
The benefits of military tribunals
I don't understand
About the civil libertarians
If our boys did something wrong in this conflict
They'd be tried in a military court.
Designed to keep people from continuing to perpetrate crimes
Through their lawyers
White House officials ritually deny that public opinion plays any role
Real questions about fairness in Congress
The concern is bipartisan
The congressman knew nothing about the military tribunal order
Until news accounts appeared
It will likely set precedents that will come back to haunt us terribly
Mr. Bush
Only the latest of many presidents to restrict civil liberties
National security above all aspects of personal liberty or
constitutional rights
There were no "significant" public objections
In times of fear
People place security above all
We love security more than we love liberty
Charles T. Schenck, a Socialist Party leader
Was convicted of writing and distributing leaflets
Urging young men to resist the military draft
The pattern:
Judicial support
For the restriction of civil liberties during
Wartime
We try to delude ourselves into thinking
That the courts will protect us from our worst inclinations
The justices are part of the same culture
That is willing to trade civil liberties for security
We live in a world with airy-fairy civil liberties
Waves of arrests allowing investigators to pry
Without any stated suspicion
Criticism from organizations and individuals
Usually vocal on the subject of civil liberties was muted
A 58-year-old black man who
Despite his own experiences with racial profiling
Says lock them up
Secretive military tribunals for suspected terrorists?
Bring them on
More surveillance and electronic eavesdropping?
No problem.
"It might be wrong, but they've got to do it."
A slippery slope
Every time something happens
They take a little freedom and then grab
A little more and a little more
We've let it happen to ourselves
Once you give up a freedom you don't get it back
We shouldn't bend the Constitution
And the rights of our citizens just
To make things easier for law enforcement
They're aiding the terrorists in achieving
Their ultimate objective
Can this government be trusted?
The government being the government
It will cross the line
Things may be tipping the wrong way
People who don't understand their rights
If they're going to tap your phone
Watch your e-mail
Knock on your door
Question you without legal representation
That reminds me of how
The Middle Eastern governments operate
It is encroaching on my civil liberties
Things seemed to be getting worse
Tape them and spy on them
For all they have left
Is a flag to wave


inspired by:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/politics/18LIBE.html