Beware Answer to Crisis: Hollande Seeks Constitutional Changes

Although he may be France’s president and not America’s, Hollande is seeking Constitutional changes to better combat terrorism, so perhaps America should take note. His desired changes, his specific ones anyway, seem pretty sensible and straightforward, if not a little irrelevant.

For example, stripping dual nationals convicted of terrorism of their French citizenship seems a bit obvious, but sometimes with Leftists you must glaringly recognize the obvious. It’s a bit humorous that Hollande doesn’t speak of arresting or killing the terrorists, but instead making sure they are globetrotting with a French passport.

Hollande mentioned increasing his security forces, “security forces” being that nebulous catchall phrase that is a euphemism for “increased budget.” No matter how you say it, it ultimately means that a money-grab will ensue and the people least responsible will pay the most.

Why should this matter to Americans? Because if there’s one thing that the left loves, it’s emulating western European politicians. And they never let a perfectly good crisis go to waste.

With language that should have disqualified him from public service to the American people, CIA director John Brennan referred to outrage over flagrant disregard for the Fourth Amendment as “hand wringing” that hindered the identification of the Paris massacre perpetrators and potentially made preventing it impossible. Former director James Woolsey laid the blame for the attack at the feet of Edward Snowden. So over a hundred people lost their lives in Paris because the United States government does not have a legal right to track your electronic communications without a warrant, even though they do it anyway. Sure, blame the whistleblower, as the farm was fresh out of scapegoats from the CIA. Respectfully, they can both go to hell.

Recently many conservatives were appalled to hear that 40% of Millennials were in favor of abandoning freedom of speech for hate speech legislation. But with so many Americans already clamoring for gun control and others, even so-called conservatives praising bulk surveillance, the results of that poll shouldn’t be that much of a shock. It seems that the lesson many have taken from the American experiment is that people can’t be trusted with independence.

It is simply amazing that the obvious explanation of the problem of terrorism by Muslims is met with accusations of racism and xenophobia. Even if illegal domestic surveillance had entirely honorable intentions and was completely on the up and up–take a moment to laugh and/or cry at that absurd notion–at best it will be a very poorly maintained dragnet. More often it will be a terrifying, Orwellian political weapon used against the good guys.

One can only conclude that is the purpose of illegal domestic surveillance, as we are certainly not serious about protecting our border or denying admittance to God knows who. It’s a free-for-all, akin to an immune system trying to protect a body that has no skin.

Paris has taught us a lesson, and it’s the same lesson as Troy. We should absolutely resist any attempt to scare us into surrendering the Bill of Rights, or should I say further surrendering?

America fell prey to the crisis of 9/11 and implemented the Patriot Act. Let’s not repeat that mistake.

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