Thursday, April 16, 2009

I'm a menace to society?

NOTE: I originally posted this thought today on my family blog. Although it is not of much literary merit, I felt that it was more suited to this blog. Enjoy.

Well, I'm sure you have heard on the news that the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has put out a memo that says returning Vets, pro-life, anti-same-sex-marriage, and pro-gun people are a terrorist threat. Since I fall into all of these categories, DHS views my as a menace to society, right? No, not really. I doubt many people have actually read the whole ten page memo. The fact of the matter is that even fewer people should have read it. It is classified as Unclassified/For Official Use Only. It was not meant for the general population. Also, it reads as if it is a sanitized version of a document of a higher classification. If this is the case, it would explain the easy to misread first page or two.

I read the memo. Unless you are used to reading such government style writing, it is easy to read the first couple of pages and freak out. Right wingers are bad!!! I must interject at this point: conservatives, like I am, are not right wing extremists. Liberals like our President are not Left wingers. These two terms are thrown around far too much. Nazis are an example of Right wing extremists. Anarcho-communists are an example of Left wing extremists. The report is about extremists, not the average conservative. The point of the memo is that Neo-Nazi and similar minded groups may try to recruit people like that have the previously mentioned views. Read the whole memo if you do not believe me.

Apparently, there is also a similar Left Wing Extremist memo. Interestingly, there was no news report that people who drive Prius or sub-compact cars are likely Eco-terrorists. I'm glad that no such thing appeared in the news. I drive a CRX (and there is not much smaller on the American road), and I would be very confused as to whither I would be a Right or Left wing extremist. I guess I would be a double threat, or no threat at all. The fact is that I am not an extremist of any kind, and I doubt DHS really thinks I am one either.

-Phil

P.S DHS if you read this and feel I am a threat, feel free to do the 24 hour surveillance of me allowed by the Patriot Act. I must warn you though, it will be a very boring 24 hours.