8pov

The world can certainly do better than this. Here's why.

Monday, May 22

US Attorney General vs. the First Amendment

Read the NYT article.

The way that this reads in the NYT is that first and foremost responsibility of US Government is to prosecute criminal offenders. The problem is, the release of "sensitive" materials by the press is in the pursuit of justice that cannot be obtained any other way. Especially where those being brought to justice are within US Government body.

The release of information for public consumption, sometimes a threat to the nebulous notion of "national security," opens a Pandora's Box for the Administration, especially this Administration. The corruption rife within the Bush Adminstration has only begun to be uncovered. Indictments are piling high and the conduct of officials is under scrutiny. As such, the remarks of the Attorney General are not unexpected. However, a consequent crackdown on freedom of speech would certainly be a step backward for US.

"'... it can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity' he said. 'And so those two principles have to be accommodated.'"

It was well put by Hemos on Slashdot: So our 1st amendment rights don't trump the right of the federal government to violate them?

Thursday, May 4

Vincente Fox vs. US

Within the past year, both Canada and Mexico have sought to decriminalize recreational quantities of controlled substances. While Canada seeks to establish an in road with marijuana, a widely accessible and virtually harmless controlled substance, the efforts of the past forty years of decriminalization have been stymied at each turn by the reflexive responses of US drug warriors. The clear message in Canada is captured here:

"'Paul Martin,... said he did not think that young people caught with small amounts of pot should have a criminal record. ... 'Certainly, from a health point of view, doctors will all tell you that it (using pot) is not the best thing,' Martin said. 'But it's of no use to anyone to give a criminal record to a young person who is caught with small quantities.'"

Restriction on the freedoms of an individuals act as deterrents, it is for this reason that some civilizations have laws, legal systems, and prisons. Record-keeping, sometimes as effective a deterrent to criminal behaviour as prison itself, is part and parcel with any criminal justice system. Timely review of justice within a society must also take place to ensure that laws in place represent the people and steer clear of the institution of a totalitarian state. The combined interests of freedom and security may yet result in the repeal of the drug prohibition.

Tabling a decriminalization bill to curb violence directly associated with the drug trade is a reasonable and responsible position to take. Vincente Fox, President of Mexico, a free nation under siege, bears the responsibility to protect his people. The internal considerations of that nation supercede the interests of its international trading partners and a global war on drugs. As long as Mexico takes steps to prevent drugs from crossing its borders, say, into the US, then legislation may proceed as the nation sees fit.

As has been exemplified on thousands of occaisions the prohibition of the drug trade has only perpetuated a negative feedback loop of violence and addiction. It is human nature: a person moreso desires that which cannot be had. Lifting prohibition on narcotics, treating drug consumption as a disease rather than a crime, is a positive step that the drug enforcement culture of America refuses to approach.

Lifting the prohibition of alcohol that resulted in so much violence and organized crime in the 1920s and 30s in America did not result in violent backlash when repealed in widespread alcoholism in the 50s and 60s. Instead, social structures and education introduced a check-balance system that constantly monitors alcohol consumption. Alcoholics, furthermore, have the means to seek counselling for their problems. This is especially important today as the crushing pressures of contemporary life begin to push more people toward the escapism afforded by recreational substances, legal and controlled alike.

America is the single most consumptive nation on the face of the Earth. It is this consumptive nature that is responsible for their downfall in the face of drug culture. Whereas non-Americans know where to draw the line, exerting discretion and common-sense in consumptive behaviour, America seeks to broach the extremes. Applied to drug consumption, this behaviour is monumentally destructive and, as a result is subject to such intense control. A cultural shift away from excess is needed for Americans to appreciate freedom for what it is. Freedom does not necessitate self-destruction, it necessitates the acceptance of responsibility.

As it stands, however, the march of freedom simply does not guarantee sovereign nations the right to internal security. Each time that a nation bows to the interests expressed by those United States, the assimilation of the world grows closer to concrete fruition.