From: Greg Burch (gregburch@gregburch.net)
Date: Mon Nov 25 2002 - 19:54:31 MST
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.org
> [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org] On Behalf Of Amara Graps
> Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 4:22 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: botched diplomacy
>
> I can't begin to express how upset it makes me when I see the
> direction that the U.S. is going.
Amara:
Another unfortunately very quick note, but I thought I would write one
-- even if on the fly -- because I respect your opinions. I agree that
some of the things you mention in your post are unfortunate, but I
wonder if your point of view as an expatriate may have some bearing on
your feelings. Remember, the press in general reports on extraordinary
things, not ordinary things. It's just not newsworthy that tens of
thousands of criminal cases have been processed in the last year in
exactly the way such cases have been handled for decades.
I see the workings of the justice system in the US every day from the
inside and I haven't seen any sort of massive erosion of civil rights in
the U.S. The tone of your post hints that you may think such a thing is
happening. If there's an erosion, so far it is only at the extreme
margins. Protecting liberty at the margins is, of course, very
important, and the actions of the government in response to the
terrorist actions of last year certainly bear watching. But rest
assured that in 99.99999% of the cases, the normal workings of the
criminal justice system grind on in their clanky, relatively inefficient
way unchanged.
And please don't get the idea that some kind of "neighborhood committee"
system has somehow been instituted in the U.S. It hasn't.
Finally, there's no question in my mind that the mainstream press in
much of Europe is anti-American in a subtle way that pervades editorial
policy and reporting. You may well be seeing a skewed depiction of life
here.
Greg Burch
Vice-President, Extropy Institute
http://www.gregburch.net
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