On the Wrong Side of History

I am starting to get worried about the direction this country is taking. The Obama administration is getting hammered for its decision (which should be an automatic non-decision, by the way) to charge and try Nigerian Christmas day bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian court and provide him access to a lawyer.

The criticism comes mainly from Republicans, who argue that it is wrong to "treat Abdulmutallab as if he were an ordinary criminal," and that the administration should not grant "new rights" to terrorists. According to newly elected senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, "tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them."

For its part, the Obama administration argues that civil rights should be a central part of anti-terrorism efforts. Cooperation by Muslim communities in the US and abroad can only be secured when a degree of trust can be established. To state the obvious, would Abdulmutallab's father have come forward to report his son as a potential threat to the United States if he feared his son would be tortured in US custody or "disappeared"? (see Andrea Prasow's excellent discussion of this in the Huffington Post a couple of days ago)

In my opinion, I believe America is losing its soul. At one time in history, America was at the forefront of human rights and democracy. Kings and the forces of tradition feared our "radical" ideas of equality and civil rights. Although there were many imperfections in the implementation of these ideals (and the imperfections were huge - slavery, "manifest destiny" and so on), the ideals became the seeds of important liberation movements in the US and around the world.

Now that the US is a global hegemon, power, not freedom, is its most important concern. The direction that is taking us should concern us all.